How we support industry professionals

Houses with more surface area are more susceptible to extreme climate conditions. Keeping your floor plan as square or compact as possible reduces the exposure to outside temperatures, helping reduce heat loss in colder climates, or unwanted heat gain during those hot summer days.

The external colours of the home will either absorb or reflect heat. Selecting colours on certain orientations can have a positive or negative effect on the themal efficiency.

If the home is in a cooler climate, darker external colours may be of more benefit as they absorb heat more than lighter colours. In hotter climates, light external colours may be a better choice as they are best at reflecting the heat away.

As the world moves towards a carbon free future, solar friendly roofs will be paramount in delivering zero carbon homes. A good future-proof design considers the roof pitch, orientation and area to ensure there is enough space for solar panels to meet the future energy needs of the home.

If the photovoltaic system is not being installed during the build, provisions need to be made for easy installation of a solar system in the future.

Battery storage smooths out the energy usage profile of a home. Combined with a solar (PV) system, a battery storage system can significantly reduce your monthly electricity bill. If battery storage is not a viable option, the house design should contain provisions for future battery storage options.A skilled thermal comfort assessor will be able to inform the designer in selecting the right type of insulation for the home.

Building orientation determines the passive solar heat gain or heat loss of the home throughout the year. It is the golden design rule for potentially lower energy usage and increased comfort, and will continue to deliver benefits from the sun free of charge for the life of the home.

Ideally an alfresco should provide a space to enjoy and to connect us to the outdoors. Most commonly they are used to shade us from the sun, this is great on hot days but care should be taken not to have an alfresco that shades or blocks winter sun into the home. A clever design will enable the home to have both.This is some text inside of a div block.

Windows are a great way to connect us to our environment but care should be taken in the placement and amount of glass used in the home.

A single glazed window will lose 18 times as much heat as an equivalent amount of external insulated wall. The more glass that is added to the home, the more it will be susceptible to extreme outside temperatures.

Choosing high performance windows systems is one of the best ways to address excess thermal bridging and reduce living costs. A skilled thermal performance assessor will be able to recommend the best glazing system for the home’s needs.

Correctly chosen and installed, insulation will significantly reduce the amount of energy needed to maintain a comfortable temperature inside a home regardless of the weather outside.

Some types of insulation are good for keeping the heat in the home through winter and other types insulation are good for keeping the heat out in summer. Foil wrap provides the added benefit of minimising air infiltration and helps to contribute towards air tight construction.

A skilled thermal comfort assessor will be able to inform the designer in selecting the right type of insulation for the home.