Sustainability
Understanding Tank Water Quality
The drawing on the right shows a fairly typical rainwater tank layout. I have seen lots of tanks set up like this and have also seen this layout in tank supplier’s brochures. The set up is probably OK for garden…
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Insulation – Heat loss Suspended Timber Floor
I have previously posted about the Heat Loss from a Slab Floor so how does that compare with a suspended timber, or particle board, floor? Well its not as bad as you might think because the the space under the…
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Insulation – Heat Loss Slab On Ground
Why is there less fuss about insulation under a concrete raft slab than ceilings and walls?…………well here are a few interesting facts: A thick layer of earth provides a reasonable amount of insulation. The soil contributes to the thermal mass of…
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West Facing Solar Hot Water System?
If you are committed to sustainability then space on the North facing roof is at premium. One option may be to look at putting the solar hot water system on a West facing roof. This will mean you can maximise…
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Green Roof
How would you like to be mowing the roof of this house? This is a ‘Green Roof’ something which is quite common in many Northern Hemisphere Countries but not so common in Australia. They can work well in keeping a…
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Solar Hot Water
With the current emphasis on building efficiency solar hot water systems are pretty much a standard option if not automatically included. These systems incorporate either gas or electricity boosting for cloudy days. Here are a few thoughts on the options…
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Why I Don’t Have Mono-Crystalline Solar Panels
Several people have commented that my panels look different to those on other houses. Most solar PV installations use Mono-Crystalline panels, because they are smaller for the same power rating. The panels on my roof are Kaneka Thin Film Panels….
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Block Orientation
Sponsored by Coral Homes When looking at block orientation a key issue is using the sun to warm the house in winter and keeping the sun out of the rooms in the summer. Typical blocks in Australia are rectangular. About…
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Solar Electricity – Is It Worthwhile? (2011)
Since this post was written in 2011 there has been many changes; in subsidies, the cost of systems, and Power Supplier charges. For the an updated post see: Solar Electricity – Is It Worthwhile? (2014) There is a lot of…
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