Category: Fundamentals
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Build Aotearoa 13: Homestar vs Building Code
The New Zealand Building Code does not guarantee performance in all areas that many homeowners might expect. Fortunately, Homestar is available to close the performance gaps. Homestar Headline Benefits• Fresh air• Dry• Comfort• Carbon Homestar Design ChecklistThis is a summary of the basic requirements over and above basic building code…
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Build Aotearoa 10: Warmer and Wetter
This week, I attended a BRANZ seminar titled ‘Building for our Changing Climate’ in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. It’s encouraging to see rooms filled with designers, builders, product suppliers, building officials, and others interested enough in this critical topic to dedicate four hours of their week to it. A key takeaway is that we’re not adequately…
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Build Aotearoa 2: Principles and Performance
In March 2023, Homestar trainer, Passive House Designer and Certified Passive House owner, Joseph Lyth published a comparison of Homestar v5, Passive House and MBIE’s proposed Building for Climate Change framework. It’s a useful summary of these main three standards. There are other standards and brands out there, but these are the most relevant for…
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268: Common Ground
Zola Rose has a vision for regenerative housing as a solution for improving communities and sustainability. She brings diverse and international experience to Aotearoa New Zealand where she now calls Nelson her home. Real estate has long been used as an investment and a means of making a profit in New Zealand. Zola explains how…
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257 The Atlas of Comfort
Germán Molina trained as an engineer in Chile and has recently completed fascinating research posing the question ‘what is comfort?’ at Victoria University in Wellington. Having come from ‘the warm side’ of engineering, Germán has long had an interest in energy efficiency. He didn’t expect to be researching human behavior and social science.
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234: The Business Opportunity of Sustainable Building
Robert Sroufe, PhD. is a Professor of Sustainability, Operations and Supply Chain Management at Duquesne University. His practical experience comes from sustainable supply chain management. He says he was ‘co-opted’ into the green building movement by other experts who invited him to present to their students about the business opportunities of sustainable building. Customised Sustainability…
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216: Studio Origami
I’m always interested in the perceptions of architects and builders who have been trained or have experienced living in Europe and then come to the Southern Hemisphere. Their reaction to typical houses in New Zealand and Australia usually involves a level of disbelief. A common sentiment is that they’ve never been colder, despite this being…
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Passive Solar and Passive House
I’ve been enjoying a mostly plant-based, whole food diet for the last two years. I’ve maintained a healthy size and weight, I’ve avoided getting sick and my blood pressure and cholesterol are all good. I know this because after turning forty a few years ago, I decided to check on these things. Not because I…
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190: What can learn from over thirty years of airtightness testing?
Paul Jennings needed a project for his dissertation on fuel poverty in the UK when he came across some charity work funded by the then ‘Greater London Council’. This was back in the 1980s. Not many people had heard of Blower Doors or airtightness testing. But a team from the suppliers in Canada were willing…
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185: What is Airtightness and Why do we Need it?
The topic of airtightness keeps coming up. Derek Ward of Clioma House shared his thoughts on the topic back in episode 103 and Jon Davies of Pro Clima went into some detail in episode 163. This episode is a reading of a presentation I prepared recently on the topic of airtightness, why we’re scared of…