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Sustainable Housing

Introducing the WOW House Prototype

Can design change the world? Phil Little believes it can. PLSDFs prototype, the WOW House illuminates Phil's vision of the future - it is Australia's first Solar Decathlon.
The WOW House presents new solutions through applied technology to build 'green lifestyles' into mainstream culture. Living in a WOW House ensures a 'green lifestyle' is not a conscious effort, but a way of life. “If you don’t design it in, you design it out”, explains Phil.

By definition a ‘Green' House is a more organic approach to city living. Phil Little’s eco-designed dwelling, incorporates passive climate control, roof water collection, a rotating solar roof (capable of powering an electric vehicle), water/energy self-efficiency and high-speed communications. Its modular design allows flexibility: create a peaceful hermitage from a busy life, an office or combine with a second module to create a sizable commercial hub.

Australia’s first Solar Decathlon proves we can be friendlier to the environment without compromising one’s modern convenience and lifestyle. It incorporates the comfort layers of modern society by adapting eighteenth century building technologies to meet the demands of the 21st century's challenge for affordable housing. It also has the potential to take-away the prestigious solar decathlon trophy from American universities and position Australia as the leader in Climate Management technologies!

This project is a ‘statement making initiative’ which has drawn the support of Brisbane's Lord Mayor Cambell Newman. It promises to unite industry, academia and government in the fight against climate change with deliverable outcomes that may well lead to the ‘New Queenslander’!

The WOW House - The House With Out Walls features:

The world's first rotating roof which tracks the sun to produce up to 30% more energy from a standard solar home
A rotating solar roof which powers not only the house, but also an electric vehicle!
Unique air-flow design for the tropics (passive temperature control) eliminating the need for conventional air-conditioning.
Off-site manufactured shell to reduce erection costs and streamline building regulation requirements.
Customisable, lightweight, yet durable design.
Can be transported to any part of the world in three containers
Complies with Australian Building codes and requirements
More affordable than many traditional-style homes to purchase
Running and operational costs drop dramatically - to become almost negligible
Open internal design to allow for any floor plan to suit the buyers needs
Thermal water heating
Integrated technology to ensure a self-sufficient house that would not be dependent on grid services. Generating its own energy catches, managing its own water and providing adequate temperature control.
The frames can interconnect to create a larger building catering for large families, a school or even a hospital.
Unique angle and design of the roof creates more energy storage and reduction of heat to the inner areas of the home.
Reduces demand on the grid by providing energy from renewable resources which is necessary to reduce the pressure on our global ecological climate issues.

The WOW Home is a livable home

Precise forethought and planning that has gone into the design of the Wow House prototype, you can soon have a cozy, comfortable home as well as that warm fuzzy feeling inside that comes with reducing your ecological footprint.

All PLSDF homes feature structural design elements to dramatically reduce energy consumption (while still maintaining comfort levels) through the use of passive solar design. This is one of the least expensive ways to heat your home, as it’s basically free when designed into a new home and has zero running costs. Put simply, design for passive solar heating is about keeping summer sun out and letting winter sun in. In moderate climates, passive solar design alone should keep the whole house comfortable for most of the year and when done well can eliminate the need for artificial heating (and cooling) all together.

Catering for the more extreme climate peaks and valleys, the Wow House prototype stretches these benefits further, incorporating convection air-cooling for the summer months so that you are unlikely to feel the need for an air-conditioner at all. It also gives the home-owner the ability to close essential living spaces off from the rest of the house reducing the amount of artificial heat required during our brief Australian winters…just another design element that will minimise the impact of artificial heating on both the environment and your budget.

We often don’t consider what happens after we flick the switch on the air conditioner, or what the farther-reaching impact might be of leaving the fan heater on in the bathroom. But by taking a few simple steps, big savings can be made

	PRESENTING THE GREENHOUSE These clever homes provide the owner with a 21^st century lifestyle while enjoying a massive reduction in living costs. Cost-effective housing with low energy requirements featuring renewable energy sources and water management systems.
	This house goes up in less than 24 hours! From the moment three containers arrive, through to erecting the structure and installing the electrical and plumbing system - it takes just 24 hours. Habitable that very evening!
	The minimal labour required for erection of this pre-fabricated home saves even more time, money, and valuable resources. According to the Master Builders Association, there is a current skills shortage in Queensland as a result of failure by industry to train young people - so the industry is exposed to a significant drain on labour resources. Traditional methods of building are becoming increasingly expensive.
	But perhaps one of the most reassuring payoffs about these houses are not only sustainable, they are autonomous or self-sustainable. Thus providing a safety-net in the event of a crisis whereby infrastructure (the grid) no longer provides the services we have come to rely on. To this end, the homeowner maintains lifestyle.
	Ideal for eco-tourism Energy efficient Can be transported to any part of the world in only three containers Pre-fabricated shell reduces erection costs and streamline building regulation requirements Livable within 24 hours Passive temperature control through unique air-flow design eliminating the need for air-conditioning Made from natural timbers to reduce allergies Lightweight design Aesthetically pleasing and very livable
	Over recent years, we’ve been finding more ways to turn our homes into places of comfort and retreat. It seems that as life gets busier and free time becomes scarcer, people prefer to spend their spare time (and money) on staying in. As early as the 1970s and 80s, this movement toward entertaining and being entertained from the comfort of home has meant that we’re creating more beautiful living spaces, buying smarter and sexier electrical appliances for our at-home convenience and going to greater lengths to maintain the ideal indoor temperature.
	While it is an essential part of modern living, expecting such extravagances from traditional-style homes is proving just too far greater cost on the environment, let alone our budgets. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in the decade between 1994 and 2004 the use of whole house heating rather than ‘spot’ heating rose significantly as people strove to leave no space unwarmed in the quest for a comfortable home. During this period, the number of air-conditioner units in Australia rose by 17 per cent, which was the largest increase of any household appliance.
	While this does mean our interiors can be toasty and warm at the turn of a dial, environmental issues and sustainability have become an alarming cause for concern and priority worldwide. In the wake of the recently introduced government regulations for the building of new homes, consumers and builders are beginning to place greater emphasis on creating a balanced relationship between environment and the constructed form.
	Phil Little, director of The Phil Little Sustainable Design Foundation (PLSDF), says living a sustainable lifestyle in the 21^st century is simply a matter of designing it into our lives. PLSDF is pioneering solutions for sustainable living in the 21^st century - technology that will reduce your costs and those on the environment.

	As government requirements become more stringent to save on greenhouse gas emissions the cost of compliance will rise. But those on solar energy can expect a saving around every corner. These houses meet the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by efficiently using energy. It complies with the proposed to raise the bar on energy efficiency in housing which was introduced in May 2006.
	By having sustainable principals designed into our lives there are numerous spin-offs including enormous savings to the homeowner who would be simultaneously empowered by making a huge contribution towards saving the planet.