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Biomass Boilers: The Very, Very Basic Guide
I will be honest that I have a bit of a “soft-spot” for biomass boilers. I think it stems from when I was working in Scotland and most of the time I would see them being put to hard work in idyllic...
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Glazing in a nutshell
Glazing systems play a VERY important part in affecting a building’s energy demand. Firstly, there’s the constant trade-off with windows which can sometimes be contentious issues. Big windows equal...
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Building Information Modelling: One-for-all and all-for-one!
Building Information Modelling (or BIM for short) is the use of software by design teams to design sustainable buildings in a collaborative manner. Team Work Team work is by definition, collaborative....
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The Design Team: Crib Notes
I have often written and spoken about “the design team” and its role and function when designing green buildings. Sometimes I forget that not everyone has experienced working with a team or understand...
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Air Permeability: Keeping it tight
No self-respecting green building can call itself that without having taken air-tightness (a.k.a air permeability) into account. Air permeability, or air tightness, refers to how “leaky” a building...
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Embodied Energy: The Holy Grail
Embodied energy is a very important concept to understand. As with most concepts, it’s not limited to green building design, but is applicable to the whole field of sustainable design. The concept of...
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De-materialization: Less is less (and that’s good!)
The concept of de-materialization is closely linked with embodied energy and the quest for zero-carbon. It is a central design philosophy of many green buildings. How it works When adopting...
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How Heat Pumps Work
This a crash-course in heat pump operation. Don’t let people tell you that you need a degree in Thermodynamics (note the capital “T”) to understand it! This is applicable to Ground Source Heat Pumps,...
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Ground Source Heat Pumps: 3/4th’s of a free lunch
Ground Source Heat Pumps are a favourite amongst design teams when designing green buildings. One you have worked with a few of them they are pretty simple installations and their performance is...
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Post-occupancy Evaluation: Exceptional or Must Try Harder?
Post-occupancy evaluation. The words elicit two reactions from design teams of green buildings: “Wow, I would love to see how my building performed against my design expectations.” “Oh no! I don’t want...
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