Home grown Lockwood ticks eco-friendly box

Living the good life is a whole lot easier when you establish sustainable design priorities right at the start of your new home project.

That is precisely what the owners of this Nelson farmhouse did when they set out to create a carbon zero property.

Self-sufficiency was the aim, says one of the owners. This was helped by having enough land to plant several thousand trees, which also provide an inexhaustible supply of firewood.

"I am from Europe, where wood is very precious," the owner says. "We value it very highly and this was a key reason we chose to build a Lockwood timber home. Wood is also a renewable resource and a warm, living material. It is a real pleasure to live in a wood house."

The owners worked closely with Andrew La Grouw of Lockwood Homes in Nelson to custom design the home.

"We aimed for the smallest possible environmental footprint," says the owner.

La Grouw says the design and construction went beyond Lockwood's already high standard of sustainable design.

"Energy saving and the use of eco-friendly materials determined every aspect of the design, and this extended to extra-thick insulation," he says. "The wide barge and fascia boards conceal extra ceiling insulation. The amount of glazing was also limited, to ensure that while the sun is captured, there is virtually no heat loss."

The house also features a photovoltaic system that is so successful the owners sell energy back to the national grid. All the water is solar heated, and a highly efficient solid fuel boiler keeps the entire house warm in winter.

The owners say another key reason for choosing a cedar-clad Lockwood home is the modern look and the fact that the all-wood construction does not compromise the home's aesthetics.

Inside the house, the pine boards were finished with an organic oil. Recycled rimu flooring was used throughout.

Other sustainable design initiatives include rain-water harvesting. There is also a waste water garden that removes organic matter, cleansing the water to re-use for landscape irrigation.

All Lockwood homes feature sustainably sourced, plantation-grown timber and the company is pursuing FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accreditation.

Story by: Trendsideas