Visit some of Australia's most inspiring sustainable homes

Head along to Sustainable House Day on Sunday 11 September to see some of Australia’s most environmentally progressive homes. You can collect useful insights and tools to help you live a more sustainable life or inspire your own sustainable renovation.

One of the featured homes for this year’s Sustainable House Day is a semi-detached home in Sydney’s Marrickville. Owners Holly and Simon and their two children Louis and Ruby have benefited from the renovation to their home which has added important thermal mass and insulation, keeping them warm with little active heating and lowering their energy bills.

The back of the home was demolished and a bathroom and laundry and kitchen and dining area built in a bright, open two-storey addition within the house’s existing footprint.

But the star of the show has been hemp – the addition’s new hempcrete walls which provide a high level of insulation and thermal mass as well as cutting noise from outside. 

Simon and Holly will be opening their home to the public on Sustainable House Day on September 11 to demonstrate the virtues of good sustainable design.

“It’s important people see that building a sustainable house doesn’t have to cost stupid amounts of money where you have every eco feature under the sun,” Simon says. 

“You can do small things and have good, integrated sustainable design.”

“The temperature stability is amazing – it makes the house liveable and it’s changed the way we live here. It’s just magical to be in the dining and living area.”

 Bank Australia is proudly supporting Sustainable House Day once again this year, presented by the Alternative Technology Association. To visit this house or see other houses in your area on Sustainable House Day visit www.sustainablehouseday.com