Jeremy Allen describes himself as ''just an ordinary handyman''. But in the past four years he has transformed his 1940s Ainslie bungalow into a model of sustainable design.
Mr Allen and his partner, Stephanie Kalish, built a second storey and added vast amounts of thermal mass in the form of tiles, insulation and brickwork.
They moved their living areas to the north side of the house and the bedrooms to the south side.
They installed shade sails, recycled weatherboards, large double-glazed windows and ventilation.
And in the process, they transformed their home from a run-down bungalow with an energy efficiency rating of zero to a bright and airy two-storey building with an EER of eight.
Mr Allen said the temperature in the kitchen area used to regularly plummet to zero in winter.
Since he finished renovating and extending the room, he said, it hadn't dropped below 15 degrees - even in winter.
Yesterday the couple opened their home as part of the nation-wide Sustainable House Day.
The annual event is designed to demystify the process of renovating or retrofitting homes to improve sustainability.
Event organiser Pia Vogrin said the event, now in its 10th year, was growing in popularity as householders increasingly tried to save money and lessen their impacts on the environment.
It is estimated that every year, the average Australian household pumps 13 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
''This event is all about ... sourcing inspiration and ideas from the people living in your local community,'' Ms Vogrin said.
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