Energising your home

This Issue This is a part of the Energy efficiency feature

By - , Build 96

In the search for energy-efficient design solutions, there are many useful organisations and resources that are accessible at the click of a mouse.

When the client wants an energy-efficient comfortable home it is usually up to the designer to find the solutions. In theory this is quite straightforward, but in practice the designer faces challenges getting useful technical information on different technologies and then integrating them practically into the design. Here is a brief overview of some of the useful organisations and resources that can be readily accessed on the Internet (listed alphabetically).

BRANZ guides

  • www.branz.co.nz
  • Being a climate friendly Kiwi – this BRANZ booklet includes an easy calculator to calculate CO2 emissions at home and in the office.
  • BRANZ ALF thermal design software – is a simple programme to calculate the heating energy consumption of New Zealand houses. It helps make fundamental thermal design choices and calculates the Building Performance Index (BPI) which is one of the current building code compliance paths for Clause H1.
  • BRANZ Green Home Scheme – is coming on-line, look for it soon on the BRANZ website.

Design Navigator

  • www.design-navigator.co.nz
  • The Design Navigator website contains a number of technical online calculators to assess the energy performance of construction components (thermal bridging, etc.) and whole buildings.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA)

  • www.eeca.govt.nz
  • EECA is tasked with promoting a sustainable energy future by changing the way New Zealanders use energy. The EECA website has searchable databases of energy-related businesses in New Zealand.
  • EECA also has an excellent detailed design guide Design for the Sun with specific solar design data and calculation methods for New Zealand conditions.

Energy Rating Australia

  • www.energyrating.gov.au
  • This website contains energy efficiency and star ratings for a range of electrical appliances that carry an energy label.

Google SketchUp

  • sketchup.google.com/product_suf.html
  • Sketchup is an easy-to-learn 3D modelling program that enables the user to quickly sketch architectural designs. One of the most interesting features is a shadow casting module that shows where the sun shadows fall throughout the year.

New Zealand Photovoltaic (PV) Association

  • www.photovoltaics.org.nz
  • The New Zealand Photovoltaic Association Inc. is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to promote the use of PV. The PVA website contains a number of useful info sheets for homeowners and designers.

New Zealand Wind Energy Association (NZWEA)

  • www.windenergy.org.nz
  • The NZWEA website features a useful page on farm and domestic wind energy applications with guidelines for grid integration and a number of links to overseas information.

RetScreen

  • www.retscreen.net/ang/t_software.php
  • RetScreen International is a project by Natural Resources Canada. The website has several free, easy-to-use spreadsheet calculators, with product databases, to assess the layout and cost effectiveness of renewable energy resources including solar water, PV and small hydro energy.

Solar Industries Association (SIA)

  • www.solarindustries.org.nz
  • The SIA coordinates the solar water heating industry development in New Zealand. The Association runs an accreditation system for products and installation and has links to technical and market information.

Sustainable by Design

Tool for Urban Sustainability, Code of Practice (TUSC)

  • www.tusc.org.nz/index.cfm/home
  • The TUSC website features of a number of tools to aid developers and homeowners to design houses at a site scale. It calculates the amount of energy and water the house potentially will use.

US Department of Energy

Window Association of New Zealand

  • www.wanz.org.nz/star_charts.htm
  • The Window Efficiency Rating System (WERS) is New Zealand’s guide for choosing the optimum window system for any given location. It accounts for heating, cooling, condensation and fading protection performance of windows including glazing and frames.

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