Great article by Australia writer David Thorp on a Passive House social housing project in the UK. Delightful, lovely, socially connected and award-winning Passive House homes. “Mikhail said that he hopes this will give a new dynamic to the construction of council housing in the UK. “At this time when we have a housing and climate change crisis we need …
“When the family bought their home, it was newly built. Over time, they saw mould on the ceiling and their roof began to leak, damaging their insulation. Their children began to have breathing problems and their home required constant maintenance.” Installing a heat pump is likely to significantly dry out their home as it will be cheaper to open windows more. …
“Passive House certified accommodation for Monash University students has taken out the Built Environment category at this year’s Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards held in Melbourne last week.” I expect that in the next few years all the buildings winning will be certified Passive House buildings. This is a great first example of extraordinary low operating energy of Passive House, as …
“Government regulation will be needed to achieve net-zero carbon buildings says architectural engineering professor Larry Bellamy.” Let’s hope those regulations are good ones that take building physics into account and don’t allow system-wide poor choices. I push energy efficiency every day—it’s what I do—but increased energy efficiency requires better building practices, not just stuffing in more insulation. Read more on …
This article doesn’t really come to a conclusion other than the old rule of thumb of divide the blower door ACHn50 by 20 to determine the average infiltration is not accurate. I know how hard it is to estimate the site wind speed from weather station data and then the pressure across the envelope and of course the ACHn50 number …
Paying utility bills is a stretch for many New Zealand households. As we move to a low-carbon economy, a raft of measures may be necessary to ensure that energy costs do not weigh more heavily on those already financially burdened. Analysis using the Household Economic Survey, an annual survey run by Stats NZ that measures the economic wellbeing of New …
80-90% heating energy reduction (well for those that could afford to heat their homes) saves energy, CO2 and costs less over the lifespan of the building than building to the legally required minimum (i.e. code). Passive House Pools (Passivhaus) are being built in the UK and were measured to save 70% of the heating energy costs (electricity) in the first …
Built to Perform: An Industry Led Pathway to a Zero Carbon Ready Building Code 3 July 2018 Improved energy performance of buildings presents a win-win-win opportunity, reducing stress on the electricity network, offering bill savings, supporting a least-cost pathway to a zero-carbon built environment, and improving health and resilience outcomes for households and businesses https://www.asbec.asn.au/research-items/built-perform/ Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings …
A certain friend of mine from Canada pointed out to me late last week that the only exemption for requiring a fixed heater in the main living room-sized per the heating capacity calculator are Certified Passive House or certain Living Building Challenge buildings. See the text from the act: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2019/0088/latest/whole.html#LMS167196 11 Exemption for certified passive buildings (1) The main …
