The thermal performance of a house is determined by the complex interaction of a variety of major influences. With higher performance being desired, and demanded, it becomes more important that an objective measure is used for an assessment to be meaningful.

PrefabNZ is working with several primary banks and other secondary lenders to bring more finance options to market to enable prefabricated housing systems to be more accessible for first-home buyers.

Six key points that the KiwiBuild housing scheme must incorporate for history-making success.

When designing buildings for thermal performance, which criteria should dominate when it comes to the selection of building materials?

Should we be reviewing the natural ventilation aspects of the standard form of windows commonly used in our modern houses?

An introduction to prefabrication: what specifiers need to be aware of when designing for offsite construction.

Does the disconnect between the standard temperatures used for thermal performance research, and the actual interior and climatic temperatures to which building are exposed, cause confusion?

Recently there seems to be a developing interest in locating domestic aluminium windows to align with the thermal insulation zone of exterior walls. This interest seems to be focused on thermally broken window frames and the by-passing of the thermal break which occurs with current window installation details.

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?

Construction businesses with differing levels of experience and expertise can form partnerships at an individual project level in order to increase information, education and skills — as collaboration between Stanley Group and Tall Wood at The Grounds, Hobsonville Point shows.