More window manufacturers and suppliers have supplied data to populate Sustainable Engineering’s window specifications database. Passive House designers can now find specs for timber windows manufactured here in New Zealand by Optimal Windows and uPVC windows from Stärke. We’re delighted to report both these suppliers have included sliding door data, which as Passive House designers know, is notoriously difficult to …
Generic slab edges default should be B’/2=2m
A slab edge is one of the most common thermal bridges we see in New Zealand. In a traditional timber framed building on a concrete slab, the perimeter thermal bridge will often have a large impact. “ISO13370: Thermal performance of buildings — Heat transfer via the ground — Calculation methods” provides the steps to calculate it and take into account …
Understanding DataTables and Variants
Tech Tips with Toby Variants is a handy tool when using PHPP to model multiple design options within the one PHPP file. Suppose you’re trying different window frames, glazing or types of insulation: the variants tab is the place to do it. The Excel tool behind how that sheet works is called DataTables. To understand how the variants sheet works, …
Top 10 tricks for PHPP speed and ease
Tech Tips with Toby PHPP is the software Passive House designers use to model the performance of buildings—before they are built. It’s a front-end on an Excel spreadsheet. Now, most people use Excel, at least a little bit. But Excel is a powerful beast of a software programme and there are tonnes of shortcuts and tools that make it faster …