Timber roof trusses are designed and engineered using the latest technology software and manufactured using precision equipment.
Benefits include:Heat pumps are an efficient type of storage water heater that extracts heat from the air, water or ground to heat water. The type installed at The Lighthouse Estate is air-sourced.
Air-sourced heat pumps absorb heat from the air and transfer it to heat your water. They run on electricity but are roughly three times more efficient than conventional electric water heaters. When used in the right climate conditions they save energy, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Electric heat pumps work on the same principle as your refrigerator, but instead of pumping heat out of the fridge to keep it cool, they pump heat into the water. Electricity is used to pump a refrigerant around the system, which picks up heat from the air and transfers it to the water.If that isn't enough, it will also save as much as 60% of your current energy bills - enough to pay for itself in 3-4 years and add to the real estate value of your home.
'Thermal mass' describes the potential of a material to store and re-release thermal energy. Materials with high thermal mass, such as concrete slabs, can help regulate indoor comfort by acting like a temperature flywheel: by radiating or absorbing heat, they create a heating or cooling effect on the human body.
'Thermal mass is useful in most climates, however, to be effective it must be used in conjunction with good passive design.'Á slabs should be designed so that in winter it can absorb heat from the sun (or other low energy sources). This heat is stored by the thermal mass and re-radiated for many hours afterwards.
Slab design should also ensure that in summer it is protected from direct sunlight during the day, but is still exposed to cooling night breezes and night sky radiation so that heat collected during the day can dissipate.An uninsulated slab in a good passively designed house has a surface temperature approximately the same as the stable ground temperature at about 3m depth. Ground coupling in mild climate zones such as Geraldton allows the floor slab of a well-insulated house to achieve the stable temperature of the earth: cooler in summer, warmer in winter. In winter, added solar gain boosts the surface temperature of the slab to a very comfortable level.
When it comes to a comfortable living environment your home can be your worst enemy. Take those freezing winters. 42% of your home's warmth is lost through the ceiling and 24% is lost through the walls. It's the reverse on blazing hot summer days with heat flowing in through the ceiling and walls.
Insulation stops up to 70% of all heat transfers. Insulation gives you comfort and control all year-round.Thermal Resistance and Thermal Response
The performance of an insulation material is measured by its 'Thermal Resistance' or 'R-value'. Uninsulated building sections, such as walls or roofs, also have an R-value. The greater the R-value, the more effective is the insulation or building section at resisting heat flow, and therefore the greater the level of insulation provided. While the R-value is an important influence on the rate of heat loss and heat gain from a house, the thermal comfort inside a house is also affected by the 'Thermal Response' of the building materials used.The comment is often made that "double brick is better" from the point of view of thermal comfort. However, when the R- values of the common wall types are compared, they are quite similar- uninsulated double brick (RO.50), uninsulated brick veneer (RO.46); and uninsulated weatherboard (0.46).
The R-value of the insulation and the R-value of the uninsulated building section can be combined to form the total thermal resistance (Rr) of the insulated building section.
The villas at The Lighthouse Estate have insulating R values as follows:Long lifetime stands out as the number one benefit of LED lights. LED bulbs and diodes have an outstanding operational lifetime expectation of up to 100.000 hours. This is 11 years of continuous operation, or 22 years of 50% operation. If you leave on the LED fixture for 8h per day it would take around 20 years before you'd have to replace the LED bulb.
LED's are different to standard lighting. : They don't really burn out and stop working like a standard light, rather the lighting diodes emit lower output levels over a very long period of time and become less bright.
Todays most efficient way of illumination and lighting, with an estimated energy efficiency of 80%-90% when compared to traditional lighting and conventional light bulbs. This means that about 80% of the electrical energy is converted to light, while 20% is lost and converted into other forms of energy such as heat. Traditional incandescent light bulbs that operate at 20% energy efficiency only and 80% of the electricity is lost as heat. As an example, If you use traditional lighting and have an electricity bill of e.g $100, then $80 of that money has been used to heat the room, not to light it! Using LED illumination with 80% efficiency, the electricity cost would be around $20 and you'd have saved around $80.
The long operational lifetime acts as a multiplicator and helps achieve even more energy efficiency, especially large scale and when thinking in terms of urban infrastructure projects, such as cities, railroads and airports.
Think of e.g an airport using energy efficient LED lighting exclusively and achieving a 30% power consumption reduction in comparison with an airport using conventional lighting technology.
The long lifespan of LED lights also reduces maintenance-..... think of all the work and energy it would take to purchase, stock and change the conventional light bulbs of an airport - you'll see that you can make significant energy savings also when it comes to maintenance and replacement due to the long operational life times of LED lighting.
LED lights are free of toxic chemicals and materials. Most conventional fluorescent lighting bulbs contain a multitude of materials like mercury that are dangerous for the environment.
LED lights are 100% recyclable, and will help you to reduce your carbon footprint by up to a third. The long operational life span mentioned above also means that one LED light bulb save material and production involved in 25 incandescent light bulbs. A big step towards a greener future!
LED are extremely durable and built with sturdy components that are highly rugged and can withstand even the roughest conditions.
LED lights are resistant to shock, vibrations and external impacts, and therefore make great outdoor lighting systems for rough conditions and exposure to weather, wind, rain or even external vandalism, traffic related public exposure and construction or manufacturing sites.
LED illumination produces little infrared light and close to no UV emissions.
This makes LED lighting is highly suitable not only for goods and materials that are sensitive to heat due to the benefit of little radiated heat emission, but also for illumination of UV sensitive objects or materials such as in museums, art galleries, archaeological sites etc.
LEDs can be combined in any shape to produce highly efficient illumination. Individual LEDs can be dimmed, resulting in a dynamic control of light, colour and distribution. Well-designed LED illumination systems can achieve fantastic lighting effects, not only for the eye but also for the mood and the mind.
LED mood illumination is already being used in airplanes, classrooms and many more locations and we can expect to see a lot more LED mood illumination in our daily lives within the next few years.
LED are ideal for operation under cold and low outdoor temperature settings. For fluorescent lamps, low temperatures may affect operation and present a challenge, but LED illumination operates well also in cold settings, such as for outdoor winter settings, freezer rooms etc.
LED is designed to focus its light and can be directed to a specific location without the use of an external reflector, achieving a higher application efficiency than conventional lighting. Well-designed LED illumination systems are able to deliver light more efficiently to the desired location.
LED lights brighten up immediately when powered on, which has obvious advantages.
Also, LED lights can be switched off and on frequently without affecting the LED's lifetime or light emission. In contrast, traditional lighting may take several seconds to reach full brightness, and frequent on/off switching does drastically reduce operational life expectancy.
A low-voltage power supply is sufficient for LED illumination.
Photovoltaics (PV) is the name of a method of converting solar energy into direct current electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. A photovoltaic system employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells to supply usable solar power.
Power generation from solar PV has long been seen as a clean sustainable energy technology which draws on the planet's most plentiful and widely distributed renewable energy source the sun. The direct conversion of sunlight to electricity occurs without any moving parts or environmental emissions during operation. It is well proven, as photovoltaic systems have now been used for fifty years in specialized applications, and grid-connected PV systems have been in use for over twenty years
All Lighthouse Estate villas are fitted with a 2.0 Kw PV system and allowing for 10% of the power generated by the system to be exported back into the grid, residents can expect to save around $800.00 a year on electricity costs.
Allowing for a 7% per annum increase in electricity cost and the natural degradation of the panels, you could expect to save around $40K over the lifetime of the system.
Each system is also projected to save 3.5 tonnes of carbon in its first year and 87.3 tonnes over its lifetime. As with all aspects of The Lighthouse Estate construction and materials are focused on reducing our carbon footprint.
Wall framing made from steel is 100 per cent termite and borer proof, meaning the frames don't require additional chemical treatments to protect them from pest attack.
Steel is also non-combustible, so its use significantly reduces the amount of flammable material in a home.The inherent strength and durability of steel provides structural integrity in all types of environments and conditions - from Australia's cyclone-prone north to the cold climate regions of the south; in bushland, where fire is an ever present threat, and on the coast.
Wall frames made from steel are precision engineered to be dimensionally accurate.
They won't shrink, twist or warp, reducing the likelihood of problems such as cracking cornices, jamming doors, sticking windows or wavy rooflines.It lends itself perfectly to innovative designs and non-conventional roof lines, helping to create distinctive, highly individualised homes.
In particular, the high strength-to-weight ratio of steel roof framing allows for longer spans, creating larger, more open living areas. And because it's steel, it measures up against increasingly stringent building and fire regulations.The relatively light weight of steel framing, combined with its design versatility and flexibility, means a steel-framed house can be built with minimal site impact.
Quite literally, it 'touches the earth lightly'.Steel frames are fabricated off-site to exact specifications, so there are minimal cutting and wastage onsite, resulting in a cleaner building environment.
The EPS used is treated with Perform Guard®, an inorganic material that is a deterrent to termites. It provides fully integrated protection for the life of the external wall cladding products used in a building's construction. It is not a surface additive.
Heat flow is restricted from passing through the panels by trapped air. Temperatures are more easily controlled as heat does not readily escape or enter. The wall cladding , together with the completed wall render built in accordance with the Installation Manual, meets the Bush Fire Attach Level (BAL) 29 which offers peace of mind.
The insulating core is reinforced with the fiberglass enhanced surface coating technology, providing strength and impact resistance against everyday backyard knocks.
ThermaWallPlus® has been developed and made in Australia by RMAX specifically for Australian conditions and building codes in all states. It is manufactured in RMAX plants under controlled production processes to maintain consistent quality. Australian made building products support the industry and help build a more vibrant economy that benefits all Australians.Polystyrene (EPS) insulation is practical, economic and efficient and can be applied to all areas of building construction - ceilings, roofs, walls, floors and under slab - to provide superior standards of thermal insulation. That's why EPS is the ultimate insulation.
The closed cell technology of this remarkable product allows EPS insulation to cut building energy use and CO2 emissions by up to 50%.The insulation performance lasts the life of the structure and does not deteriorate. It continues to reduce building energy requirements and emissions long into the future.
Inverter air conditioning is more expensive than non-inverter air conditioning but with the current spiralling energy costs, is it worth the extra expense.
An Inverter air conditioning system- varies the speed of the compressors, delivering precise cooling or heating power as required.
The amount of cooling or heating required by an air conditioning unit varies depending on the outdoor temperature and the amount of heat in the room.
When the cooling or heating capacity needs to be increased, the compressor will operate at a high speed and will increase the amount of refrigerant flow.Conversely, during moderate outside temperatures for example, when the cooling and heating capacity needs to be decreased, the compressor will operate at a low speed and will decrease the amount of refrigerant flow.
When the inverter air conditioning is switched on, the compressor operates at a high speed in order to cool or heat the room quickly. As the room temperature approaches the set temperature, the compressor slows down, maintaining a constant temperature and saving energy. Any sudden fluctuation in the room temperature will be sensed and instantly adjusted to bring the room temperature back to the set temperature. EcoAir inverter air conditioning use between 30-50% less electricity to operate.Double glazing helps keep your home warmer during winter and cooler in summer. There are some modern glass types that can enhance the thermal effects of double glazing. This type of glass is known as Low e glass and offers a reduction in heat loss varies from 54% to 64%.
One of the reasons a lot of people choose to use double glazed windows in their home is for the thermal benefits. The layer between the two pieces of glass creates a barrier to keep the cold temperatures on the outside from affecting the climate on the inside. The loss of heat through a double glazed unit can be over 54% less than through a single glazed window. There are superior glass options that can improve the thermal efficiencies (such as Low-E glass) and argon filled units, reducing the heat loss through your windows up to and greater than 70%. Low E, or Low Emissivity glass, reflects longwave radiation keeping the heat inside the home. Low E and argon filled units are installed at The Lighthouse Estate villas.
In the same way that the insulating layer of double glazing helps keep the cold temperatures out, it also reduces the impact of hot temperatures. Thus, the benefit for you is that your home will be noticeably cooler in summer. The shift from single glazing to standard double glazing will reduce the solar heat gain through your windows by around 13%. By using glass with improved thermal properties (such as Low-E glass) and tinting, the reduction in solar heat gain through your windows can be greater than 50%.
Condensation forms when cold air meets with a warm surface. The argon gas in between the glass keeps the inside glass at room temperature thereby virtually eliminating condensation and dampness within your home. Many existing homes have problems with condensation on the inside of their windows during winter. This condensation is usually the result of warm humid air condensing on the relatively cold surface of single pane glass.
With double glazing, there is improved thermal insulation between the outside and inside due the gap between the glass layer. As a result, condensation is greatly reduced.Laminated glass offers greater protection for people and property by providing an effective barrier from attack. Although the glass will break if hit with a hammer, brick or similar object, the inner layer can resist penetration, ensuring any attempt to enter a premise in this way will be slow and noisy. In addition the attacked glass will tend to remain in the opening, keeping wind and rain out of the building until it can be replaced at a convenient time.
Using glass that deflects UV rays is as if you have applied sunscreen to your windows. No more faded upholstery and sun damage to your furnishings. Ultraviolet or UV as we know it causes the fading of furniture, furnishings and carpets. Double glazing provides the benefit of reducing the amount of UV light that can get inside. The optimum benefits occur with laminated glass which reduces the penetration of UV rays by 95%. Tinted glass also offers benefits in reducing the penetration of UV light.
