From this thread
viewtopic.php?f=38&t=51148&p=790980#p790980
in the Owner Builder section I have copied a few links for those of you like me who are interested in Sustainable and Universal Design.
From Steves post - Designing and building a sustainable house
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/index.html
An excellent series of downloadable pdfs
Also one I picked up about Universal Design - the long term implications by making a house more adaptable recently linked to an article from the weekend Home supplement in the Telegraph on Saturday.
http://www.landcom.com.au/content/publi ... lines.aspx
A good ( as in simplest ) rainfall calculator for finding out how much water you can collect from your roof in one month ( or year ) in your area.
http://stratco.com.au/products/rainwate ... rtanks.asp
Just type in your roof area , punch in your postcode and voila. Edited 11/02/13
Thanks to Bashworth ( again )
Here is an almost as good calculator to find out which size tank best suits your needs according to your postcode , catchment roof area and daily use.
http://tankulator.ata.org.au/index.php
Added 10/11/12
And if you can't find the plans to your house or can't work out the size of your roof by any other means to use the calculator above, use this handy Google tool
http://www.mapdevelopers.com/area_finder.php
Added 10/11/12
http://www.google.com.au/url?q=http://w ... 59ZoG2mkNQ
An excellent ROI calculator spreadsheet for solar panels
Click the link above to download it. Added 07/10/13
One of the better charts I've come across comparing the old incandescent and halogen with newer ones like CFLs etc with regards to wattage and lumens output.
http://lighting.build.com.au/globe-comparison-guide
I've taken the link in FuManchus signature about the sustainable Mandurah home and plonked it here.
http://www.sustainablemandurah.com.au/
A good article for some of the historical aspects behind passive design with a few good links as well
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house
A good calculator or guide to working out the R-values for wall and roof insulation when you are designing a house to lower your energy costs.
http://www.ecowho.com/tools/r_value_calculator.php
New energy ratings to come into effect sometime this year ( they say May but ... )
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/what-yo ... homes.aspx
http://www.nathers.gov.au/contacts.html added 22/02/2012
From a post by " Tippy Toes " comes a link to an excellent eaves calculator.
http://www.ecowho.com/tools/passive_sol ... ulator.php added 13/08/2012
A good link for determining the partial and total R-values for various wall types - BV, weatherboard clad etc.
http://www.google.com.au/url?q=http://o ... NslLxFHhLQ
added 12/09/2012
An indicator or calculator from the BOM giving you wind direction for your city by month or annually. Very handy if you are trying to work out where to put your windows to catch those cooling summer breezes.
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/ ... _map.shtml
Pinched from secur_ed's post in the Building a New House forum in this post
House Orientation - Cool house in summer, warm in winter
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=55057&start=280
added 08/10/2012
How remiss of me not to link to Brian Ashworths ( bashworth on these forums ) excellent site for all things building...
Not only does it have excellent eco links like sustainability and solar design etc but a lot more about building in general.
He is a civil engineer by trade who mainly worked in the water industry and knows his stuff as they say.
http://www.anewhouse.com.au/
Added 11/10/2012
Here is a good calculator regarding your lighting energy efficiency as per the BCA in an Excel spreadsheet format. This is so you don't go over the watts per sq m.
How many watts per square metre (W/sqm) under BCA guidelines?
The main thing you need to be aware of is that as of May 2011, you will only be allowed:
5 watts per square metre (5W/sqm) of lighting indoors
4 watts per square metre (4W/sqm) of lighting in outdoor areas (including verandahs)
3 watts per square metre (3W/sqm) of lighting in garages
Download the calculator from here...
http://www.abcb.gov.au/major-initiative ... calculator
This page also has a few other pertinent points on this subject.
http://www.build.com.au/lighting/lighti ... strictions.
Added 21/11/12
A good calculator that gives you the azimuth of the sun for your area at various times of the day.
http://www.sunposition.info/sunposition ... ations.php
Added 10/01/13
A similar calculator that gives good charts for sun position , elevations etc.
http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/sydney-au.html
To find out the info for your city just click on "Australia" in this line
Sydney, Australia - Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times, table which will take you to a list of available towns and cities you can choose from.
Added 12/01/13
A pretty good summary of what to look for in solar panels and inverters.
http://www.solarmarket.com.au/tips/choosing_components/
Added 05/03/13
Another good link for buying a block of land with the best site orientation and solar access from a post Liliana made in this thread here
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=33594&p=1064562&sid=34ca844d04f218ed9fcd957f656a76ec#p1064562
http://www.kbhomes.com.au/files/pages/P ... he_sun.pdf
Added 22/08/13
A good link if you are interested in working out your gutters and downpipes regarding flow etc. All to the national Plumbing Code too. These are for downpipes, eaves gutters, box gutters and pipe sizes.
http://www.roof-gutter-design.com.au/index.html
Added 01/10/13
Here is a link to a pdf I had a look at recently regarding rainwater tanks and harvesting the water. Quite a comprehensive read and covers a lot of material.
Some excellent data on Australian Cities, their rainfall and a chart regarding roof size and how much water you can collect.
http://www.google.com.au/url?q=http://w ... UWdJ50P1mQ
Added 07/03/14
Another calculator from the excellent ecowho website ( they have a lot more interesting stuff there too ) that I pinched from mwccl's post regarding eaves calculations.
http://www.ecowho.com/tools/passive_sol ... ulator.php
Added 20/03/14
A good calculator that forum member ddaroch has found regarding the best solar orientation for SHW and PV systems.
http://solarelectricityhandbook.com/sol ... iance.html
Added 01/04/15 ( and no, despite the fact this was added on April Fools day it won't make your computer explode if you click on that link ).
Stewie