Verona 40 by Arden Homes
Verona 40 with Avery façade. Arden Homes' Verona 40 display home with Avery façade achieves a 7-star NatHERS energy rating and also includes efficient, all-electric appliances, solar PV and battery storage. This home shows that even with a larger floor plan, achieving 7 stars is possible.
Feature home snapshot
Builder: Arden Homes
Location: 28 Origin Drive, Villawood Redstone Estate, Sunbury Victoria - NatHERS Climate Zone 60
Design: Verona 40 - Avery façade
Description: Double storey, 4 bedroom 2.5 bathroom, 2 living areas
Size: Total area: 383.83m2
Ground floor: 149.13m2
First floor: 178.83m2
Garage: 48.41m2
Porch: 7.46m2
NatHERS energy rating: 7 stars*
Whole-of-home assessment: All electric with solar PV and battery
*This home has been rated using FirstRate5 5.3.2b under NCC 2019.
Energy and cost savings
Using Sustainability Victoria’s Whole of Home Pilot Tool, the estimated annual energy use, emissions and energy bill amounts were calculated for this home and compared to the same home built to the current minimum requirements under the current version of the national construction code, 6-star NatHERS rating with average efficiency mixed fuel appliances without solar PV.. Thanks to the 7-star NatHERS rating and the selection of all-electric appliances, solar PV and battery the new owners of this home are expected to save 65% each year on their utility bills. Due to the addition of a solar PV system and battery storage this home has a negative energy usage and –0.35 tonnes of CO2-e emitted each year.
| 28 Origin Drive, if it were a mixed fuel 6-star home without solar PV | 28 Origin Drive (actual – 7 star all-electric home with solar PV and battery) | Savings [%] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual energy use | 54,799 MJ | -1,242 MJ | 102% |
| tCO2-e emitted p.a. | 7.19 | -0.35 | 105% |
| Annual energy bill | $2,860 | $987 | 65% |
Table 1: Predicted annual energy use, emissions and costs, including supply charge for the Verona design under a business as usual and as built scenario.
Annual consumption by end use area
The annual energy consumption of the home has been calculated and is demonstrated in the graph. When modelled as an all-electric home, 28 Origin Drive has most of its energy consumption used by plug-in appliances (washing machine, dishwasher, TV), closely followed by the heating system. When modelled as a mixed fuel home (using gas for heating, hot water and cooking) most of the energy consumption in the home is assigned to the heating and hot water systems.
Verona 40 design. Home features
| Feature | 28 Origin Drive, if it were a mixed fuel 6-star home design in the same climate zone with mixed fuel appliances | 28 Origin Drive, 7-star (as-built) |
|---|---|---|
| NatHERS rating | 6 stars | 7.1 stars |
| Design orientation | North facing at the rear of the site | North facing at the rear of the site |
| Insulation - ceiling | R3.5 batts to ceiling (garage ceiling uninsulated) | R7 batts to ceiling including garage ceiling |
| Insulation - external walls | R2.0 to external walls | R2.7 to external walls |
| Insulation - internal walls | No insulation for internal walls | R2.7 to all internal wet area walls (all interior walls insulated for acoustic benefit) |
| Windows | Double glazed to kitchen/living/dining, activity, theatre, study (4/10 argon fill/4) | Double glazed (4/10 argon fill/4 to all windows) |
| Hot water | Solar hot water system - gas boosted | Heat pump hot water |
| Rooftop Solar PV | N/A | 6 kW Solar PV system and 14kW of battery storage |
| Heating and cooling | Gas ducted heating, no cooling | Ducted reverse cycle heating/ cooling system |
| Lighting | Maximum 5 W/m2 | 2 W/m2; energy-efficient LED lighting |
Verona 40 Floor Plan (Copyright: Arden Homes). Home design
The Verona design featured at 28 Origin Drive won the 2022 HIA Victorian award for Best Display Home in its category, recognising the quality, design and innovation of this design. This two storey home comes in 34 and 40 squares and is from the Lumina range.
The Verona design features:
- 4 bedrooms, with walk-in robes
- A luxury main bedroom with a sitting area, generous walk-in robe and ensuite
- 4 living areas, including a study, home theatre, living room and upstairs activity room
- 2 bathrooms plus a powder room
- An all-electric kitchen and walk-in pantry
Some of the key decisions involved in this home achieving 28 Origin Drive’s 7-star NatHERS rating are outlined below:
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The current National Construction Code requires that new homes achieve a minimum of 6 stars and from May 2024 7 stars will become the new minimum requirement in Victoria. To easily achieve a 7-star rating the team at Arden Homes knew that accessing the optimal orientation is key. Using the principles of solar passive design and orientating the main living areas to the north reduces the need for expensive insulation and glazing upgrades down the track. Involving a qualified NatHERS assessor early in the design process can assist in finding 7 star solutions for sites that don’t have the ideal orientation.
The design for 28 Origin Drive locates the main living spaces to the north of the block and the garage to the south. Arden Home’s designs are embedded with flexibility in the floor plans which allow the clients to select the optimal orientation for their home by flipping the rear and
- Locating the main living areas to the north
- Locating bathrooms, laundries and garages to the west and south
- Provide shading to windows through appropriately sized eaves.
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To achieve the current NatHERS standard of 6 stars, this home requires a mix of double glazing (4mm glass/10mm argon-filled gap/4mm glass) to the kitchen/living/dining, activity, theatre and study. Single glazed clear windows were selected in all other rooms. To achieve the 7 star rating this home requires double glazing (4mm glass/10mm argon-filled gap/4mm glass) with standard aluminum frames to all rooms.
With good window design and appropriate shading a house can have a net heat gain through windows in winter, and minimal heat gain in summer. This allows the home to stay warmer in winter without overheating in summer.
- Prioritise north facing windows with at least 600mm eaves. North facing windows should be the equivalent of less than 25% of the floor area.
- Eastern windows start the early warming of the house in winter. East facing windows should be the equivalent of less than 15% of the floor area.
- Avoid west facing windows and if they are required, they should be shaded in summer, preferably with vertical external blinds or shading devices. West facing windows should make up no more than 10-15% of the total floor area.
- South facing windows can be used to pick up cooling breezes on summer evenings. As they don’t have access to any sun during the day, they should make up no more than 10-15% floor area.
- Place windows to pick up the summer breeze path. For more information on the summer breeze paths check out Sustainability Victoria’s Energy Smart Housing Manual.
- Specifying ceiling fans in all bedrooms and living spaces will also support a higher NatHERS rating.
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Insulation helps to reduce the transfer of heat through walls roofs and floors. To go from 6 to 7 stars the insulation upgrades in this home include upgrading:
- ceiling insulation from R3.5 to R7.0 batts to ceiling including garage ceiling
- external wall insulation from R2.0 to R2.7 batts
- insulation between the home and the garage and adding or upgrading insulation in internal walls around wet areas.
Including insulation in internal walls around wet areas, theatre rooms or between different zones reduces noise and helps contribute to occupant comfort.
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The use of all-electric appliances combined with solar PV and battery storage means this home will be saving 65% or approximately $1,873 annually on their energy bills, compared to a mixed fuel home. With ‘Arden-Electrified’ as standard, all their homes have been designed for the future. Their all-electric homes are 100% carbon neutral and produce the same amount of renewable energy that they use. By creating zero carbon emissions, each home makes a difference to reduce climate change.
This all-electric, carbon-neutral homes features:
- all-electric cooking appliances including induction cooktop
- energy-saving solar panels
- ducted reverse-cycle heating and cooling
- integrated heat pump hot water service
- double glazing to windows
- LED downlights
- Three phase power.
Verona Design Kitchen, showing the induction cooktop. Home construction
Following an as-built verification training workshop on-site with the Arden homes construction team, the construction process for this home involved some additional steps ensuring quality built outcomes.
- Additional care has been taken when installing insulation, ensuring coverage is continuous and free from gaps. This includes around windows and at external corners and wall junctions which are commonly missed.
- A plaster airtightness strategy has been employed, this includes caulking of plaster to the concrete slab, caulking service penetrations and caulking and sealing around cavity slider doors.
- All exhaust fans and the kitchen rangehood are fitted with in-line dampers and are vented externally. This prevents draughts and reduces issues with condensation associated with extraction fans venting into the roof cavity. Quality exhaust fans ensure a healthy indoor environment.
As-built verification
Sustainability Victoria engaged an independent as-built verification assessor to ensure that the home was built to meet its intended energy efficiency targets. The verification check included a blower door test to measure air leakage, a thermography test to check insulation coverage and visual inspections of glazing, ceiling insulation, extraction fan vents and appliances.
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The home was blower-door tested to determine the air leakage rate. The home passed the blower door test with an air-permeability of 6.22 m3/h/m2 @ 50Pa, which is good result and well below the requirements of the National Construction Code.
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This test uses a thermal imaging camera that can ‘see’ heat, enabling the assessor to inspect the installation of insulation, by looking for hot spots and cold spots in the ceilings and walls. The inspection is passed if no more than 5% of insulation is missing in the walls, floors and ceilings.
The home passed with only a small 0.82% deficit in ceiling insulation coverage and a 0.12% deficit in the walls.
Summary
Arden Home’s displays in the Villawood Redstone Estate in Sunbury demonstrate how designing and building 7-star homes can be easy and efficient. The Verona 40 display demonstrates that a large double storey family home can easily achieve 7 stars by upgrading to double glazed standard aluminium frames glazing along with insulation upgrades. Arden Home’s all-electric, carbon-neutral inclusions mean that this home has all-electric cooking appliances, including induction cooktop, energy-saving solar panels and battery storage, ducted reverse-cycle heating and cooling, a heat pump hot water system, three phase power and double glazing to windows to all windows. By going all-electric this home is expected to save its future occupants 65% on their annual energy bills saving money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.