Category: Ventilation
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Build Aotearoa: Physics
Denise Martin has been involved with many of Aotearoa’s Passive House projects. As one of the most experienced blower door testers in the country, she’s been involved with verifying a range of residential and commercial buildings both in New Zealand and Australia. I caught up with Denise to chat about how she got into building…
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230: Making Houses Perform
Murray and Lee Ann Durbin know what it’s like to live in a good home. For nearly five years, they enjoyed living in the Homestar 10, Passive House Plus Certified Ideal House. The Ideal House is now one of the first Passive Houses in New Zealand to be resold. Murray and Lee Ann have moved…
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213: What’s so Good About uPVC Windows and Doors?
The uPVC window market is relatively small in Australia right now, but it’s growing fast. I caught up with Kathrin Sender, Managing Director at Integra Windows recently to find out what’s so good about uPVC windows and doors. uPVC This isn’t the first time I’ve featured a uPVC window supplier on the show (see Warm…
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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…
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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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172: The Lotus Eco Village – How to Create Affordable Healthy Houses
In 1971, Eric Doornekamp led a group of yoga enthusiasts to establish the Lotus Yoga Centre and Retreat in Aro Street, Wellington. Almost half a century on, the Lotus Yoga Centre Charitable Trust is branching out and developing an Eco-Village. The Lotus Eco Village will be built in Paraparaumu, on a 3 hectare site purchased by…
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Why I need a Ventilation System
I woke up at 3:00 am this morning and was vaguely aware that something wasn’t right. It wasn’t an emergency, but something was off. I was warm, but it felt stuffy and I suspected my lack of ventilation was causing me problems again. Breathing without Ventilation At 3:00, in a drowsy stupor, I was aware…
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How to Reduce Mould in the Home
Mould Mould comes from fungi naturally occurring in the air. Fungi can be our friends. It includes mushrooms and the yeasts we use for making bread. But mould in our homes makes us sick. Just like activating yeast, fungi needs a food source and moisture to grow. This a clue as to how we can…
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168: When is it Okay to Have a Hole in your Roof?
A roof window might be an okay hole to have in your roof. Marc Van de Loo is a Sales Manager at VELUX New Zealand. I chatted with Marc about why you’d ever want a hole in your roof. We also discussed how a roof window can improve comfort without impacting energy efficiency. Windows are…