When there is talk of thermal insulation 'R-values' soon come into the conversation, but how do they relate to the actual thermal comfort of a building? And are they the primary determinant of the thermal comfort of a home?

Thermally broken window frames have been available for a number of years, but for some reason their uptake has not been as rapid as might be expected from the promotion given to them.

There are city councils in New Zealand which offer their citizens and local designers free advice on how to improve the quality and comfort of both new and existing homes.

Ensuring that medium-density low-rise apartment complexes comply with NZBC-H1 (Energy Efficiency) is more involved than for stand-alone dwellings.

Heating a house is not as simple as just fitting a heat pump to a convenient wall. The most important first step is to develop a heating and cooling Performance Brief for the residence.

A new edition (Fourth) of the New Zealand Building Code Clause H1 (Energy Efficiency) has been published. It became effective on 1st January 2017.

Perhaps neither when it comes to attempting to control climate change. Perhaps it will only be by the sum of the small actions of individuals that there may be some hope of progress.

The New Zealand Building Code clause H1 (Energy Efficiency) requires minimum levels of insulation only to the exterior of the inhabited areas of a house. Is this enough?

The original WERS (Energy Efficiency Rating Scheme) for windows has been supplemented with WEERS — a more targeted system which considers, in more detail, the factors which influence the performance of the 'window element' of an exterior wall.

When the thermal mass of a concrete floor is being used to assist with the heating (or cooling) of a house, in my opinion there are two distinct approaches to designing the insulation of the slab.