A Sydney woman trying to make her inner-city house entirely off-grid has had a major breakthrough, with her local council announcing it’s reviewing rules that prevent owners from putting solar panels on street-facing roofs.
When Dr Laura Ryan bought her 1890s workers cottage in Newtown eight years ago, she had an ambitious plan to transform it into an entirely sustainable house.
That meant providing her own water, sewage and electricity — no easy feat in one of the densest urban environments in the country.
She hoped that by proving it was possible, it would provide other keen renovators with a blueprint to follow suit.
“Pretty much every single [person she consulted along the way] has said that it’s the impossible house,” Dr Ryan told Grand Designs Australia.
“That I can’t do what I’m trying to do.
“But I kept looking for people that would give me a glimmer of hope and I’m working with those people.
“And I’m hoping that it will be the possible house.”
After successfully sorting out how to bring her plan to life, she faced a final roadblock in 2021 when she submitted her development application.
The Inner West Council approved all of her proposals, except one.
“I can’t go off-grid unless I get solar panels on the front roof, but the council won’t let me do that so that’s really, really frustrating,” Dr Ryan said.
Her request was denied because her house sat within a heritage conservation area.
Dr Laura Ryan’s ambitious off-grid home was eight years in the making. (ABC/Fremantle Media: Sally Griffiths)
Adding to Dr Ryan’s frustration, a couple of streets away in the City of Sydney Council, the rules do allow for front-facing panels.
“It’s quite upsetting … [the panels are] a temporary structure and I’m still maintaining the facade in every other way,” she said.
Now, with the rest of her house successfully self-sufficient, the only thing stopping her from being entirely off-grid is her need for electricity.
But there may be good news ahead for Dr Ryan and others in the area.
Council reviewing restrictions
When the ABC contacted the Inner West Council, Mayor Darcy Byrne said the council was reviewing its heritage restrictions.
“The long-standing restrictions on street-facing solar panels in heritage conservation zones are currently too strict,” the mayor said.
“We are reviewing them now and can make it easier to install street-facing solar panels as part of our new overall planning controls, which will go on exhibition in the new year.
“There is a tension between solar panels and heritage preservation but the panels aren’t permanent structures and we should make it simpler to install them everywhere, including heritage conservation zones.”
Mr Byrne described the restrictions as a “longstanding challenge” and that work on the new local environment plan, including a review of the rules, had been underway for the past six months.
Dr Ryan said she was excited by the news and the potential it held for her to achieve her vision of being entirely off-grid.
Dr Ryan’s incinerator toilet produces a cup of ash a week. (ABC/Fremantle Media: Sally Griffiths)
Impossible becomes possible
Aside from her final street-facing solar panels, Dr Ryan and her team of architects and builders made the rest of her sustainable house dream a reality.
In total, the renovations took her a year to complete and cost $50,000 more than her anticipated $900,000 budget.
She also gave herself a grace period before cutting the connection with outside services, which came in handy after a recent holiday.
Dr Ryan’s rainwater tanks were installed under the floors in her extension. (ABC/Fremantle Media)
When she turned on her water, a strange smell raised her alarm bells.
“I went away a couple of weeks ago for work and then came back and my water had gone anaerobic,” she said.
“So one of the first, I guess, off-grid fails that I had to deal with, and it turned out, we installed the wrong guttering, so we’ve dealt with that now.”
But she’s approaching that, and any future mishaps, with her characteristic determination.
“I know it’s going to sound weird, but those things going wrong are me knowing that I’m learning about how it works,” she said.
“It’s all a learning curve for me and I want to make sure that if other people want to do the same thing, then I can [share that information] so people don’t make the same mistakes.”
Watch how Dr Laura Ryan made her off-grid dream a reality in Grand Designs Australia, stream free anytime on ABC iview.
