After several years of planning, 2 years of renting, and 11 months of building we’re finally in! It took a bit longer and cost a bit more than we expected, but we got there in the end. Thanks to everyone’s support who has helped along the way.
We don’t have any monitoring equipment in yet, but using an old-school thermometer we’re sitting around that 20 degree mark with no heating, and 23-24 when we light the fire (and holding for a very long time). The Zhender ventilation is in and working, however it needs to be commissioned. There are some small areas around the house yet to complete, such as mounting mirrors in bathrooms, and the landscaping is probably half finished but due to be completed soon. The home is extremely pleasant to live in, and incredibly quiet. The PV panels are in, and the inverters got mounted yesterday (thanks to Ideal Electrical and PowerTech), but we now have to wait 3-4 weeks for our connection to be approved (and import/export meter) now we have our permanent mains meter.
We are also pleased to be trialling a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, thanks to Mitsubishi motors – and this will be charged from the Juicepoint in the garage. It’s a beautiful machine, and we’ll be uploading information and pictures in a few weeks.
We’re heading away for a few days of well earned rest, before finishing up the house and staging it for the grand opening in September, then moving onto regular open days.
Murray & Lee Ann
PS – Here’s a photo of a happy & warm kid:
IDEAL House - New Zealand 