Category: Fundamentals
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180: Why Adding Insulation Causes Moisture Issues in Buildings
When Prof. Dr. Hartwig Künzel was studying Chemical Engineering, his father was a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute. Hartwig followed in his father’s footsteps after becoming interested in the preservation of heritage buildings. He soon discovered that he could apply his engineering training to diagnosing the moisture problems that occurred after buildings were insulated.
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179: Why managing moisture is so important for indoor air quality
Terry Brennan literally wrote the book on managing moisture for improved indoor air quality. He is a lead author of a landmark 2013 Environmental Protection Agency book titled “Moisture Control for Building Design, Construction and Maintenance” which has since become a standard reference document in the industry in the US.
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174: Housing, Not Just Houses
Karen Manson likes thinking about and designing housing, not just houses. With over 15 years of design experience, include 10 years overseas, Karen now has her own practice in Christchurch. She focuses on high performance houses, including Passive House. I had the opportunity to chat with Karen at the pro clima HUB about her journey.…
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173: Using WUFI® to Keep Buildings Dry and Healthy
Jesse Clarke is concerned with how to keep buildings dry so that they remain healthy, durable and energy efficient. Jesse is the Building Science Manager for Pro Clima Australia and Pro Clima NZ. He’s also an experienced advocate of WUFI® software. If you don’t put the building products together properly, then you don’t manage the…
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Residential Tenancies. It’s Time to Act.
It’s time for us all to have a say in helping to make better rental places to live, by commenting on proposed changes the the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. I’m used to criticising government housing policies. I often state my case that our building code is woefully inadequate, I berate the state of our existing housing…
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163: The Facts About Airtightness
Walls (and roofs and floors) of buildings have become complicated. As we’ve increased the level of insulation, we’ve created some new problems, like condensation. This has been aggravated by the addition of layers into the wall that reduce air movement. So how do you create a wall that keeps you warm but will also stay dry? I…
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156: Why Passive House? With Dr Wolfgang Feist
I never intended for this to become a Passive House blog site, nor did I intend to become a Passive House expert. And I don’t think either of those two things have happened, yet. I have had a number of Passive House designers and product suppliers on the show and earlier this year I was…
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140 What happens when eco becomes mainstream?
Marketing can be used in an ‘evil’ way, but Kristy Hoare always wanted to use her marketing skills for good. She’s done this by helping to promote products that she believes can me the world better. As solar power and eco homes become more mainstream, it’s increasingly important to have somewhere to find unbiased information, and that’s…
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139: The Future of Green Design
The terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘eco’ are not obvious on Adam Taylor’s website. They are there (see if you can find them). But perhaps the future of green design is embedded in good design. Not something separate. Homestar Practitioner Among other things, Adam is a Homestar Practitioner. There’s nothing particularly special about this nowadays, except when you…
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138 Dr. Allison Bailes Energy Vanguard
Dr Allison Bailes III uses his PhD in physics and his background in teaching, to educate the world about better buildings. Through his company Energy Vanguard, Dr Bailes has been recognised as a great communicator, turning complex ideas like relative humidity and psychrometrics, into understandable fundamentals for better home performance. The Phsyics of Good Buildings…