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Photo of signage on top of the Woodside building in Perth, Western Australia.

Why I no longer write for Sanctuary Magazine

In the first half of 2021, I received a phone call from the editor of Sanctuary, who was interested in featuring the Geenunginy Bo residence in the upcoming issue of the magazine as the showcase project for Sustainable House Day. Needless to say, my clients and I were very excited to be selected for this opportunity.

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Indoor Air Quality

Q+A: Retrofitting and Air Quality Advice

We are in a 1907 double brick federation house on a limestone foundation with a badly built 1980s extension on a concrete slab at the back. It has badly sealed doors and windows (single glazing), limited window fittings, two electric fans venting into the attic.

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Case Study: Mount Lawley Retrofit

In 2018 we assisted with a retrofit project to an existing house in Mount Lawley, Western Australia. Our client was seeking to improve the thermal comfort and available daylight in the house, particularly during winter.

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NCC Energy Efficiency Compliance Checklist

This checklist has been produced to assist building and construction industry professionals to determine if satisfactory information and evidence has been provided to demonstrate that a Class 1 and/or 10a building satisfies the energy efficiency performance provisions of the National Construction Code 2019 edition Volume 2.

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Beyond the Stars – Energy ratings as a design tool

There’s much more to be gained from an energy rating tool than the number of Stars. Sid Thoo and Alex Raynes-Goldie demonstrate how an energy rating tool can help tweak the building’s orientation, materials, shading and more. THE Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) ranks a home’s potential thermal performance

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Confessions of a NatHERS assessor

In addition to being an architect and consultant that specialises in eco-effective building design, I am also a NatHERS accredited assessor. NatHERS refers to the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme, which is used throughout Australia to rate the thermal performance of residential buildings. NatHERS software is used to calculate the heating

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Q+A: Design Advice for an Outdoor Living Area?

We’re looking to build a new outdoor entertaining area applying passive solar techniques. We want to make sure that it doesn’t get too hot in summer – would a whirlybird in the roof help? We also like lots of winter sun for warmth, but also want the area to be

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Taking a performance-based approach to Deemed to Satisfy

There are two pathways for demonstrating a residential building meets the energy efficiency requirements of the National Construction Code: Performance Solutions and Deemed to Satisfy. Many of you will already be familiar with the Deemed to Satisfy provisions for energy efficiency. It consists of a prescriptive “how to” list of acceptable construction practices that have to

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Green-house

8 STAR vs 6 STAR

8 STAR vs 6 STAR So obviously an 8 star energy efficient house will perform better than a 6 star one. But by how much?  I’ve recently been involved in some consulting work for a housing design competition in the Pilbara where we attempted to illustrate exactly that. We settled

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