Just an oven is enough to keep this home warm in winter

A new type of home build promises cheaper energy bills and the perfect temperature, year-round.

Yes, you read right. “Passive homes” are the new eco-friendly properties that ensure energy savings of up to a whopping 90 per cent with a clever design system in place.

But even more surprising is the fact they can be heated by none other than a hair dryer in just 20 minutes.

The theory is that with the homes being so tiny and airtight, household items such as a hair dryer or oven are enough to keep the rooms warm during the chilly winter months.

A four-bedroom family home at 16 Sorrento Drive in Toowoomba, Queensland recently sold for $630,000, and is understood to be the third passive home in Australia to have been sold.

There are reportedly only 52 registered passive homes in the country.

Sold for a street record by Upside Real Estate agents Richard Cocozza and David Johnson, the home was built in 2021 by Scott and Madonna Stewart of Titanium Homes.

According to PriceFinder, the property was sold for $630,000 on August 19, and prior to that, was sold for $530,000 in March last year.

Built to German standards, the abode is 150 times more airtight than a typical home.

With a thick layer of insulation in the walls and floors and double-glazed windows, just the right amount of hot or cool air is allowed in and out.

Humidity remains between 30 and 60 per cent with a ducted heat recovery ventilation system with medical grade filters, nine-foot ceilings and ceiling fans in all bedrooms.

Occupying just 327-square-metres, the Queensland home contains two bathrooms, a two-car garage and a modern kitchen with stone benchtops and a breakfast bar.

There’s also space for entertaining with a dining area leading out to a covered patio, as well as a manicured lawn.