no need solar panel..expensive i guess..
why not passive energy?

natural ventilation..
sun orientation..
wind stack effect



wowwiiii

If i have the kind of real-estate you do, I'd be intent on making some money out of it.

Say you consume less than the what the solar panel provides, you can supply the excess energy to TNB line and get money out of it. So the ROI for the expensive solar panels can be paid off quicker.

Just my thoughts

Hi..is this located sumwhere in yan?

Logical thinking.
Is like putting your backside in front.
Anything should go on order, eat with mouth, sheet from back side.

Why do I feel that the master bedroom is a bit small..
Overall, the floorplan is very nice though..

solar panels are not viable for implementation. the cost is too high.
the house will be built in area that have lots of sunshine, but the panel cost is too much considering how much output it generates.

trying to avoid those as budget is limited. we're steering clear of negative spaces to maximize interior space.
tho internal garden will be implemented as part of future extension plan.

refer plan below.

the master bedroom size is already 17'x15'. the toilet took a lot of space since wife really (really really) wants a jacuzzi in there.
so to fit in a 1.5mx1.5m jacuzzi we have to compromise the bedroom size.

i have to agree the master bedroom size isn't as large as most RM1million houses that i've been, but for my requirement it's adequate. i'm not planning to put a TV or a work desk in there. my previous main bedroom is only 12'x12'

budget constraints.

do more extensive research for the solar feed-in-tariff to change your mind.
currently it costs circa RM10k for 1kW panel. say you get 10 hours of sunlight from 8am-6pm everyday, generating 10kW of electricity.
that's 10 unit of power, which you paid in average 30 cents per unit from TNB. so everyday you generate RM3 of electricity at best case scenario.
every month RM90. so RM10k will take you 9.2 years to break even. in a perfect situation.

after 10 years something will almost certainly break. and if it does then there goes your investment.
the only reason people are going for solar FIT is because TNB is paying them a lot more compared to the rate. 4-5 times more.
read more about the solar fit tariff. there's even a few threads here in lowyat.

no. further north near the border to perlis.

logic not found.
we purposely put the kitchen there so it's easier to see if someone's coming through the entrance and porch.
furthermore it's not wet kitchen there. it's the dry kitchen, which is more functional as the dining area.

i find it a hassle having to drag an entire trunk full of groceries through the main door, living room, pass the dining area just to get to the kitchen.
the proposed plan fully separate guest and family area. guests don't have to see the kitchen and family area. and family members have easy access to the family area and bedrooms.

So basically you are following a flat's concept.

natural ventilation is indeed considered. together with sun orientation.
sun movement and natural lighting for the proposed design is even simulated in google earth and sketchup to make sure i don't get too much sunlight and heat up the house.

any good idea on how to improve the ventilation? i've posted the wind direction and sun movement before.


it is quite small. the HT room is the single biggest room in the house.
for the current funding situation, must make do. can move the master bedroom to another part of the house if should i proceed to extend the house. refer extension plan below.


something like this. not in any way final.
but i could add another ~1000 sqft to the house for another RM80-100k. additional 4 more bedrooms and an indoor garden.
in 10 years time, maybe. if necessary.

i'm not an architect. not familiar as to how flats are designed.
it looks like a flat, designed like a flat, but 3x the space of a flat. must be an expensive condo.

Well, when we have the land to design, might as well design it perfectly.
Try design it such that it is truly square or rectangle without too much angles, it will really make the house looks bigger.
And I won't build too much of kitchen cabinets also. Big house with cramped cabinets will make it small.

Tracking this thead. I'm very interested with building own house. Now i'm in the quest of finding land at the reasonable price.

tiles bought.
niro granite basaltina.
grey basalt and dark grey basalt.

these have been sitting outside for a couple of weeks now. for testing purposes.

we're going for a modern look, without all that shiny shiny mirror finish floor effect.


experimented with a couple of designs, and opting for a simple straight parallel line across the room.

proposed tiling plan.

most of the house will be using the basaltina, except for main living room and guest dining area.
wife wants a cement or concrete finish for that area.

she won't let me put the same tile in my ht room.

I'm wondering who else did you hire to build your house...like planner, M&E consultant, etc. What kind of paper work is require at certain stages of the house building, paper work for authorities etc?

How's your tiles durable test going?

Interesting post! Am gonna follow this post

Since you built your own house and looking some idea and solution, you can read something from here --> http://www.cooltek.org/

This site is from a British couple who retired here and built their own house in golf course air keroh. He write very detail how to cool down, save energy and other about built a house. Earn many award also.

But he no longer update his website since he pass away suddenly 2yrs ago . You can download his report and others to read and follow.

i didn't hire anyone. it's DIY so i (we) did it ourselves. pandai pandai try try like that one. haha
tho there's an architect directly involved in the design. indirectly involved an electrical engineer, mechanical engineer and 3 civil engineer. well basically everyone from my wife's office.

residential plan submission for my area only involves the local council. but since it's a rural area even the local council doesn't bother about it. check with your local council.

the tile is freakin durable. kindda expected from a full bodied heavy duty tile. i've compared the tile after sitting outside for 1 month against the others from the box and there's no fading.

thanks. i've came across the site before. it's properly measured and the results are quite scientific in nature.
too bad the owner passed away. no wonder it's not updated for quite a while. would really to know how the current cost of their fully air-conditioning cost since the entire house is fully air conditioned 24/7.

after a few years the air-cond efficiency drop and the cost goes up. i've read that it used to cost them RM70/month to fully air-cond the house 24/7.

i've asked for a few lighting proposal.
here's the one that really makes sense and i really like:


converted to visio for easy understanding:


the PDF is attached. pardon the missing right side wall. my pdf printer is stupid. it's free so yeah.
 Visio_electrical_wiring.pdf ( 97.83k ) Number of downloads: 38

bought some LED lights and your normal CFL lights to check for their efficiency and light output.




i don't trust manufacturer specs, especially those from shady brands like these oxyone lights. so bought the ones that my wife really like to do an actual measurement.
the oxyone leds are rated for 18w, compared against phillips 18w, phillips 11w and panasonic 18w.

also bought these ge10 and mr16 small led lights to measure their power efficiency and light output.



i did my phd in energy efficiency so yes it's a major consideration.

opting for 100w energy usage for wall light, garden light, flood light and any other lights turned on during sleep time. makes no sense to put all those nice nice mood & outdoor lighting only to be turned off most of time because they're too expensive to run.
100w x 10 hours everyday from 9pm-7am x 30 day = 30kw = RM9 to run every month. ngam ngam budget haha

Nice work!

Maybe "lumens per watt" might be a better measurement of efficiency? The usual ones are around 65 lpw, good ones are approaching or exceed 100 lpw.

I'm an electrical engineer too, hehe if you don't mind me been nosey and offering my opinion.

Hope we can exchange ideas.