Although we have the Thinkstep report showing that New Zealand’s built environment contributes only 20% of our overall carbon emissions (compared to 40% for the USA and much of Europe) this is still significant. We are unique for a developed country in that we produce a lot of emissions from farming. Designing buildings to be energy efficient and reducing their embodied …
Niche public facilities an obvious target for energy-efficient design
Public swimming pools: a niche type of building but important community fixtures. They are also invariably shocking gluttons for energy thanks to stupid design (or stupid decisions by those commissioning them, who have valued form and overlooked function). As I read this, all I could think about was how the ‘standard approach’ to designing buildings—even big, flash public ones—is simply …
Work harder, commit more to decarbonising public assets
Some interesting analysis here, although you have to read carefully to see the high-performance building connection. Of the $12 billion in infrastructure spending announced last week, $200 million has been allocated for “decarbonisation” of some public assets. That’s only 1.6 % and I and others would argue that we need to work harder on reducing the carbon footprint of existing …
Handy list of trained installers
Here is the list of folks that have, at least, taken the two-day training course. If you are searching for someone in your area that knows how to build a quality air control layer, this is a good place to look. pro clima Certified Installers —29 Jan 2020
Energy Ratings Deliver Higher Sale Prices For High-Performing Homes
Homebuyers do care about energy efficiency and energy rating schemes for homes show a price premium for high-performing homes, says this Australian author. The problem is the ACT is the only Australian state with a mandatory scheme. As homes and buildings are, in general, one of the few profitable paths to zero carbon (ie we can save money while drastically …
NZ entries for the 2020 Passive House Award?
New Zealand window manufacturers took out two of the window awards at the PHI conference in China last year. Several years ago PH1NZ nearly won first place in the residential architecture awards. Time for a New Zealand architecture firm to step up and win first place. I can think of several certified homes in NZ that I’d pick. Certified Passive House …
Yes – it’s a Passive House Plus Office Building
Crazy looking building: but under the iridescent facade is a standard form office building. Well, standard aside from the funky double concrete staircase. The architect’s website has some great photos. but the really interesting point is the performance … this is a Certified Passive House Plus. It’s listed as the largest certified project in France as at the time of …
Cost of construction to Passive House level falling in UK
8% more: that’s the extra cost in the UK for building to the Passive House standard, according to this report. That is quite good. The most important factors in containing costs are: simple form; modest glazing; and an experienced team—in particular, experienced clients. Is it noteworthy that the majority of the projects in this study were social housing, not bespoke …
New NZ homes emitting 5x more carbon than <2 deg budget allows
This first study of its kind in New Zealand attempts to calculate how much carbon new homes can emit if we are to stay within the 2 degrees warming limit set by the Paris Agreement—and how much carbon our new builds are actually using. The outcome? Our typical built-to-Code new builds spew out five times more carbon than their fair …