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.

Company laboratories should be able to create reliable, accurate results, and IANZ accreditation gives customers assurance that these tests can be relied on.

Strong leadership, development funding and less finger-pointing are needed to solve the affordable housing issue in New Zealand.

CodeMark certification is a way of strongly demonstrating a product's compliance with E2.

The Environmental Choice labelling scheme is an easy and reliable way to be assured that a specified product meets a number of tough environmental and health considerations.

Looking around the Asia Pacific region we can see examples of how growing cities, like Auckland, need better infrastructure and more vertical building forms.

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.

Metamerism describes how colours can look different under different light sources and is an important factor to consider when choosing a paint colour.

An internal service cavity solves the common problem of sub-trades pulling out insulation to make space for their work and offers several benefits which outweigh the initial cost of material and labour.

Large-scale can mean either a few large buildings, or several medium ones, or many small buildings — all apply to prefabrication in New Zealand, as was discussed at the PrefabNZ CoLab recently.