Dux Hot Water EcoSmart hot water system

A Sunshine coast couple have built a house that uniquely combines a solar hot water system with additional solar panels to generate household electricity.

Paul and Donna Steffens' all-solar house at Eudlo in the Sunshine Coast hinterland is fitted with an advanced EcoSmart solar hot water system.

The EcoSmart system has been designed to be boosted by normal mains electricity at times of low sunlight.

In the Steffens' case, the system is boosted by electricity generated by a bank of photovoltaic cells mounted alongside the solar hot water collectors on the roof of the house.

In addition to boosting the solar hot water system, the photovoltaic cells supply the house's all other electricity needs.

"Well, they don't call it the Sunshine Coast for nothing, so it made sense for us to use the free energy and save a fortune on household running costs," said Paul Steffens.

The decision to go all solar came after the couple was faced with a massive bill to connect the new house to mains electricity.

"It was going to cost about $80,000 so we started to look for alternatives," said Paul Steffens.

Under new Queensland Government legislation from 1 March next year, all new homes in that State must be fitted with a greenhouse efficient solar, gas or heat pump hot water system.

The couple initially tried a gas-powered hot water heater - running off an LPG cylinder - but the fuel bills came as "a hell of a shock".

"I couldn't believe that I'd used a full 45kg bottle of LPG in only six weeks," said Mr Steffens.

"I was shocked but everyone that I spoke to told me that I'd done well to get the LPG to last that long. That means my hot water was going to cost well over $700 per year."

EcoSmart says its solar system has the potential to reduce water heating bills by up to 80 per cent in a standard home.

Based on a family of four living in Sydney or Brisbane, the EcoSmart system can save around $4000 over 10 years.

In addition to the financial saving, a house fitted with an EcoSmart solar hot water system can reduce the generation of greenhouse gases by 60 per cent compared to a similar house fitted with an electric hot water system.

The Steffens and their two children say they have found it easy to adjust to all-solar living.

"People have been curious, asking us whether we have enough power to do everything or whether we've had to stop watching television," said Mr Steffens.

"But we both come from farming backgrounds and we're used to being a bit careful with water and power, so really it's been no problem."