Aquarevo Discover Centre

There has been clear shift towards building more affordable sustainable homes that use energy efficiently and minimise their carbon footprint. Aquarevo is set to be Australia’s most water and energy efficient residential community, and Aquarevo House is the exemplar of the development. It is an 8-star energy rated house built with affordable and sustainable materials and technology, including a 5kW solar power system and 7.5kWh sonnen battery, for zero net carbon living. The model home will also be used as an educational environment for new applications of water- and energy-saving initiatives.

Aquarevo, located in Lyndhurst, Victoria, is a first-of-its-kind development being delivered by a collaboration between Villawood Properties and South East Water. When South East Water decommissioned its Cranbourne water purification plant in 2003, it decided to use the land for a project that would demonstrate a better way to use water and reduce reliance on drinking water by up to 70 per cent. All 460 homes have three sources of water – drinking water, rainwater and Class A recycled water – plumbed straight into the house through smart rainwater tanks, rain-to-hot water and pressure sewer systems controlled and monitored by OneBox®.

The development also incorporates solar technology to reduce each home’s reliance on electricity by harnessing the sun’s energy to run appliances, hot water, heating and cooling. This includes a Bristile Roofing solar array to generate power and a sonnen battery to store power. Used together, this can provide up to 80 per cent of a household’s annual energy requirements.

“We selected Bristile Roofing and sonnen battery because we wanted to deliver our Aquarevo residents the best possible experience, taking in the expertise that went into the development of the batteries and solar panels, right through to the installation and aftercare,” says Rory Costelloe, Executive Director of Villawood Properties. “These elements foster positive word of mouth and uptake, which in turn helps drive the market for sustainable building solutions, which is something we are incredibly passionate about at Villawood.”

Bristile Roofing’s understanding of the build process and working with builders was also of great benefit for Villawood as they wanted to limit the impact on their builder partners. Bristile Roofing Sales Representative Kellie Jenkins worked with the parties involved in the development, with the Bristile solar panels beings installed by solar electricians accredited by Clean Energy Council. “I worked closely with builders and customers to educate them on the different system sizes and savings that are available, and to ensure homeowners could use the energy management system day one,” says Kellie.

The solar panels are installed on a Bristile metal roof with an anticon blanket. Anticon is foil-faced insulation blanket is designed for temperature and noise control in homes and buildings with metal roofs and helps Aquarevo House achieve its 8-star energy rating.

Aquarevo is one of sonnen’s largest residential housing project developments in Australia to date with 260 homes to be equipped with a 5kWh sonnen battery. Every house in stages five to nine will be required to install a minimum 3kW solar array and be gifted a 5kWh sonnen battery by Villawood Properties and South East Water. Every house in stages one to four is required to have a minimum 2.5kW of solar installed with the option to purchase a 5kWh or more sonnen battery.

Arden Homes is building the houses in Aquarevo development and is the first builder in Australia to offer solar and battery as a standard inclusion in its development properties. “We will be using Aquarevo House to further educate builders, students and clients on environmentally friendly, sustainable, energy efficient homes, and how to achieve them at attainable price points,” says Alysha Jayamaha, Marketing Manager Arden Homes.