The basic idea? The chosen materials and landscape components sequester carbon to balance out the carbon it took to create it, all within five to 20 years. (Five for greener projects like parks, gardens, campuses and mixed-use developments, with up to 20 years for more urban projects.) The important new development is that they’ve run the numbers: it is possible …
Consider social responsibility also
I try and read Daniel Overbey’ posts for the technical content but in his first post of the year, he presented a real challenge. “John Elkington is often credited with first coining the term ‘triple bottom line’ in his 1997 book Cannibals with Forks. He defined the triple bottom line as a sustainability framework that examines an enterprise’s social, environmental …
About time: Damn right, mechanical ventilation is appropriate in all new buildings
Why am I sounding overjoyed at this simple text from BRANZ? The backstory goes a long way back. In its <December 2019 Guideline https://www.branz.co.nz/guideline>, the front story is about smart vapour retarders (SVR) and how they lower the risk of mould in New Zealand wall assemblies. (There’s a story about that too, but that’s for another time.) The big …
2019 December 16 Construction Canada: B.C. Setting New Standard For Building Energy Performance
BC Step Code Way Out In Front Comparing New Zealand to British Columbia, Canada is an interesting one. Its population is very similar to NZ (5.1 million people compared to our 4.8 m). When I talk to friends from Vancouver, they mention the crazy run-up in real estate prices (even worse Auckland) but also how everything will be Passive House …
2019 November 26 Otago Daily Times: Sustainable Communal Housing Requires Skill
This is a great short video of the co-housing project. If you watch closely you can see lots of construction details and products. My favourite Easter egg is the shot of the slab edge where you can see the domestic hot water central loop which is VERY well insulated. Love the eHaus branded WRB as well. Although not mentioned this …
2019 November 26 Radio New Zealand: Mouldy Home Victims Get New Lease On Life
In our opinion every home needs continuous mechanical ventilation. EVERY HOME. Alice Peacock, who works as a social worker with the healthy housing programme, travels around the Bay helping vulnerable families in mouldy houses. “It’s in everyone’s homes – but it is just particularly bad in some homes where it is a lot harder to ventilate the home – if …
2019 November 22 Newsroom: NZ is still building leaky homes
We are still building leaky homes. “According to journalist Peter Dyer, who has spent the past seven years researching the crisis, we are still making the same mistakes. ‘Everyone I talk to says we are still building them.’” Yep. Unfortunately this is true. And we’re trying to cover up poor design approaches – literally the same ones that caused these …
2019 November 21 Wanaka Sun: Meeting Luggate Community Needs
“QLDC endorsed an ultra‐low energy passive house concept for the new hall in late 2018, which will make it one of the first community facilities built and certified to passive house standard anywhere in New Zealand.” I expect this project will result in a significant change in how councils view the business case for facilities they will own and operate …
2019 November 21 Scoop Business: Build a Healthy Home for Asthma Sufferers
“Often the last place considered to improve health, thermal efficiencies, home comforts, and more, is the slab your house is built on. Yet it might surprise you to learn that approximately 15% of a home’s heat is lost through the foundation.” We agree completely with this media release by MaxRaft that New Zealand houses need fully insulated slabs, especially including …