“Lived in Eco Homes” a great web resource.

If you have decided to have a sustainable home built, retrofit an existing home sustainably, or to owner build it yourself, then you know that in depth, extensive research is a main key to success.

Lived in Eco Homes is a great Australian website where you can book time to actually talk to home owners that have already been down this road. At the moment there are eight homeowners each with very different homes that you can make time to speak with.

The homes available at the moment are:

• Grid-connected hempcrete – Owner built Hempcrete home
• Inner west passive house – converted shop to Passive House
• 1940s renovated for warmth – Sustainable renovated for warmth and comfort
• Passive solar upper storey – an added upper storey on a 1970’s house
• Generates own power & water – passive solar, self sufficient in electricity
• Passive solar self-sufficiency – based on freely available house plans
• Owner-built strawbale – on a modest budget
• Double-storey mudbrick – triple glazed windows and self sufficient in energy

It is very simple. You look at what kind of home each homeowner is showcasing on the front page of Lived in Eco Homes and click on the photo of the home to go to a longer description. If you want to talk to the owner you book a time slot. Depending on how much time you think you want to spend will determine the cost of the session.

I think this is a great resource for people that want to build/renovate a home in a sustainable way. You can get in depth experience of the home owners and ask them about their experiences, or get into in depth discussions about specifics.