This short feature by Australian property website for real estate, www.realestate.au, as part of their Future Homes series goes into the remarkable self sufficient, off-the-grid home of nature lovers Peter and Robyn Tuft.
Located on an 80 ha property in Kettering, Tasmania, the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home, designed by Earthcraft Design and Construction in close collaboration with the couple, took just 10 months to build (with construction handled by Skookom), and features an array of sustainable features.
The home is designed to collect all its own water, heat it through solar water heaters, treat its own waste through composting toilets and reed beds, generate its own power with a 4kw solar system complimented by a micro hydro generator connected to a small nearby creek. All of these features have made possible for the couple to never have had to pay a single utility bill since they began living in this home almost 3 years ago.
“We’ve been into the sustainability thing forever, I’m an engineer. I did my thesis in renewable energy for my undergraduate degree back in the ’70s…..Off-grid living was inspired by the location in a way. Connecting to the grid would have cost us a lot – possibly the same amount as our off-grid system.”
Peter Tuft
You can read the full article on the film here.