On balance, is there a long-term thermal and economic gain to be had from fitting insulation to the exterior face of a ‘slab-on-ground’ concrete floor... and is it as effective as it seems? 

No matter how high the thermal performance of a window, it remains much less than the same area of a standard insulated wall. With this in mind, it would be wise to give the location of a building's windows careful consideration.

Just like thermal mass, insulation will keep you cold if you do not use it intelligently.

Thermal mass can have a positive or negative influence on the thermal performance of a building depending upon how it is used.

We are encouraged to insulate and double glaze our homes and even to add thermal mass.  While a bare minimum of each is not good, how much and in what proportion is best? 

ALF (Annual Loss Factor) thermal simulation software, used to show compliance with NZBC-H1, was developed to analyse stand-alone houses, not for dwellings with party walls or within multi-unit developments. 

Introducing a new Detailed blog covering the many aspects of passive thermal design relating to the built environment.