Under The Microscope

SUSTAINABLE HOUSE: LIVING FOR OUR FUTURE by Michael Mobbs; University of Otago Press, 1998; 187 pp; $45.00

Reviewed by Brenda Vale

The title of this book encapsulates its contents, in that the text describes an attempt to live in the middle of Sydney in a manner that could be appropriate not just for the present but also for the future.

The author and his family wished to extend and rebuild the bathroom and kitchen of an existing terraced house in a Sydney suburb which sits on a small plot of 175m². Rather than taking the conventional path, this family incorporated rain water collection, waste water recycling and solar hot water and electricity generation into the renovation and conversion programme. The book is a straightforward history of the process of the design, installation and the use of these systems, identifying what has succeeded and what might have been done differently, given the wisdom that comes with experience.

The book has been written by the owner who has a background in law rather than science. At times it leaves things unanswered that would have been useful to know -- the energy consumption table (p94) shows electricity consumption which did drop after the renovations but nowhere is the gas consumption discussed to give an overall picture of before and after energy figures for the total house. Consequently, it is hard to work out the overall measurable savings attributable to the sustainability systems.

Elsewhere the book acknowledges that electricity consumption dropped but that some appliances were changed from electricity to gas during the renovation process. The book is correct is stating that such projects need' "specific measurable goals" but the data presented does not really follow this through, although he data accompanying the water collection and water recycling systems is more comprehensive than that for the energy systems.

There are one or two errors in the text -- would that photovoltaic panels really were 85% efficient! -- but overall this is a useful account for any householder contemplating such changes in their own life and would also form a basis for investigation in schools of how the application of science to common situations can produce new solutions -- in this instance solutions which are more environmentally benign.

However, ignoring any small problems with the text, unless people like the author and his family really do step out and try environmentally preferable solutions in the real world the progress towards a sustainable future will be slow indeed.

Brenda is with the University of Auckland's Faculty of Architecture, Property and Planning.