Sustainable House

Tour an inspiring example of what any household can do to help the world! Michael Mobbs' Sustainable House in inner Sydney. www. sustainablehouse.com. au

What's a sustainable house?

So it’s 2013 and my house beside Sydney’s central business district, Sydney’s Sustainable House, has been disconnected from mains water and sewer since 1996, some 16 years ago. All the daytime energy is from the sun, and the energy company sends me cheques for my clean energy from the sun I sell them during the day. Four people have lived here for energy and water bills of less than $300 each year.

How did I get myself out of my bills and into this lovely sustainable pickle here in the heart of Sydney?

Two things got me here. The first was engineers telling me it couldn’t be done; thanks fellas. The second was my fed-up-ness with the sound of my voice complaining about governments not doing anything about the pollution from electricity stations they owned and make money from. So when we decided to make the kitchen and bathroom bigger in the 19th century terrace house we decided to stop our own sewage and energy pollution during the three month renovation.

I have lived in this house since 1978 and began the process of making it sustainable in 1996. The house is in Chippendale, inner city suburb of Sydney, there are regular tours where I talk openly about what worked and what didn't work. Over 20, 000 visitors since 1996.

A tour can show how each individual person or family can make steps towards living sustainably, starting with something as simple as a change to a water-efficient shower head. Water from my house roof in the city is cleaner than town water - anyone can use his approach. Public and private tours available.

Enquiries and bookings:
• michael@sustainablehouse.com. au
• 0424 460 525

Buy my books online at
https://www. newsouthbooks.com. au /books /sustainable-house /