4 May 2017

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Have you dreamt of living in a warm home that doesn’t cost you a cent for electricity?

During May you will be able to get an idea of what it would be like to live in such a home when the owners of 10 of Christchurch’s greenest houses throw their doors open to the public.

The homes, which incorporate features such as solar powered central heating, grey water recycling and fibre glass windows, are being showcased as part of a free Exemplar Homes Tour organised by the Superhome Movement, in partnership with the Christchurch City Council.

“Many people building or renovating want to build to a higher design and performance standard than legally required because they want warm, energy efficient homes but often they’re uncertain about what products are out there or where to start,’’ says Tony Moore, the Council’s Principal Sustainability Advisor.

“The aim of the Exemplar Homes Tour is to allow people to see first-hand how sustainable, energy efficient design can be incorporated into a build without compromising on style or costing too much. At each home people will be able to speak to the designers or builders and get ideas for how they could create their own superhome,’’ Mr Moore said.

Get a sneak preview of one of the homes featured in the tour.

Homes featured in the free self-guided tour include:

  • A luxurious high performance home in Riccarton that was built in only three days using off-site and Passive House building methods.
  • An ultra-low energy beachside home in New Brighton that has heat recovery ventilation, grey water recycling, fibre glass windows and an insulated heated floor.
  • A Sumner home that has zero power bills, rain water collection, passive solar design and energy efficient appliances, walls, windows and foundations.
  • A central city townhouse that has an innovative low-impact foundation system and showcases all aspects of modern, sustainable energy efficient design.

People can tour the homes every weekend in May between 11am and 4pm.

See a map of where all 10 homes  featured in the tour are located. 

“We ran a similar tour last year and the feedback we got was that people really enjoyed being able to see innovative building approaches and technologies in action. It helped them to understand that it is possible to build better quality homes at little or no additional cost.

“The tour nicely complements the Council’s Eco-Design Advisor service that provides free expert advice about sustainable home design.’’ Mr Moore said.

Find out more about the Superhome Movement and the Exemplar Homes Tour.