Instead, drawing on years of research of the latest technologies and applications, their Natimuk home embraces a passive solar design.

Mr Obst said the home, which aimed to achieve an 8 Energy Star Rating, focused on design elements that would make the best use of the winter sunlight.

“The house has not been below 16 degrees over the winter, with no artificial heating,” he said.

“That’s quite remarkable. We have to go and check the weather outside before we leave the house to make sure we are dressed appropriately, it’s so warm inside.”

The search for a sustainable design finally led Mr Obst to GJ Gardner Homes after he viewed one of their 9.4 star energy rated homes built in Torquay. Teaming up with local GJ Gardner builder Ashley Heard and the Ararat-based design and drafting team, the Obsts were able to come up with a design to suit their needs and their dreams for sustainable living.

The Obsts had purchased a block in Natimuk in 2012 after owning and operating Banksia Hill accommodations in Quantong for 15 years. They were lured to Natimuk by the community and close-by rocking climbing opportunities.

“We had to have a block with a north-facing aspect and we were lucky to find land quite close to the centre of town,” Mr Obst said.

“It was then a matter of sitting down and working out plans to best capture the elements.”

A total of 60 per cent of the the building’s windows are on the north side of the home to capture the winter sunlight. They are double-glazed to retain the heat.

The three bedroom, two bathroom home is 149 square metres inside.

Rooms have been designed to be multipurpose to make the footprint as small as possible.

Following passive design principles, the rectangular fl oor plan has a long axis facing north to allow for greater crossventilation.

A careful measurement of degrees of sunlight at different times of year resulted in the use of three Skillion roof planes to exclude the summer sun and capture the maximum winter sun.

A reverse block construction results in the thermal mass, in the form of internal blocks, being on the inside of the home and the lighter cladding material on the outside.

“Brick veneer homes are not very efficient when it comes to heating and cooling,” Mr Obst said.

“We have reversed that idea, so the thermal mass is inside. And we’ve confirmed this winter that reverse block construction really works.”

Inside, tiles are used to capture the warmth of the sun and keep shared living areas at an even temperature.

The home is powered by a 2kw PV solar system which supplies the home’s needs during the daytime, while returning to on-grid power at night. It has a Rinnai evacuated tube solar hot water system and is equipped with 5200 litre all poly rainwater tank to supply house and garden use.

Cooling is supplied by fans in each room, with an air-conditioner installed for extreme conditions. Heating is supplied by a Neo freestanding wood fire. Imported from Canada, the fire has an extremely low emission rate and burns wood much more efficiently than most wood heaters.

A feature block wall behind the heater acts as a heat bank.

The outdoors have not been forgotten, with a 35 square metre alfresco area designed to capture the most of the winter sunlight. It will also have a retractable roof blind for shade in summer.

What strikes you about the house’s design and finishing is the attention to detail that has been paid to every aspect of its design, from its insulation to its cladding products and lighting systems.

The thought and care that has been put into the project has been considerable and Mr Obst said the result over winter spoke for itself.

“The building process is a bit more expensive, the double glazing of the windows is more expensive, but it is worth it in terms of liveability and the cost of running,” he said.

“I hope more people do move towards a passive design. My biggest gripe is that houses now are too big and burn too much energy.”