Renovation Collaborative

• Passive House Design: Subtropical

  How do you design a Passive House in a Subtropical climate like Brisbane?Today’s episode is the fourth and final episode focussing on the design specifics for each of the four climate zones around Australia, where most of our population lives. I talk to very experienced passive house designer Tiago Guerreiro, a director at the award-winning design and construction company H4 Living based in Brisbane. In this episode, Tiago explains the Passive House design specifics for Subtropical, plus he shares heaps of other information and insights about designing and building from his years of experience to help you better understand Passive House. Australian Architects can claim formal CPD hours for these podcasts. MORE INFORMATIONFind everything you need on the Renovation Collaborative website. www.renovationcollaborative.com.auPODCAST Key points summary, timestamps and resource linksFREE RESOURCES Transcript edited into clear Q&A.CPD Australian architects can find more information on CPD, and COURSES Eleven easy to read courses demystifying the entire home design and construction process. KEY POINTS SUMMARY1. The 5 Passive House design components for a subtropical climate are as follows:Windows are typically double-glazed and always operable. Windows should enable cross ventilation, purging of any excess heat build-up, and connection to the outdoors to enjoy comfortable external temperatures over spring and autumn and much of winter. The fresh air circulation system for subtropical is an ERV (energy recovery ventilation system) which is different to the HRV systems used in the cooler southern states. Wall insulation can fit within a typical 90mm timber stud framed wall thickness. No under-slab insulation is required because connecting to comfortable earth temperatures (usually around 22-23 degrees Centigrade) is beneficial for cooling. Only one layer of external wrapping is required; the vapour-permeable weatherproof membrane on the outside of the home is taped, sealed and made airtight. An additional internal membrane may be used to obtain certainty of airtightness, but it can be avoided in most cases to reduce costs. Removing thermal bridges is always essential to avoid heat gain.2. Effective shading to avoid all heat gain is critical - no sun can enter the house. Passive houses retain heat very effectively because they are well-insulated and sealed; therefore, the hotter the climate zone, the more shading is required.3. Humidity and condensation are major issues in subtropical design. It’s always essential to run a Wufi analysis (which is a moisture study) as well as the PHPP modelling to resolve any moisture issues and prevent unseen mould growth in the building structure over the long term. . If you’d like to hear more about the Wufi analysis you can find more information in Episode 4. Passive House Consultant and Certifier – with Luc...

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• Passive House Design: Warm Temperate

  How do you design a Passive House in Warm Temperate climates like Perth, Adelaide or Sydney?In today's episode, I continue to investigate the design specifics for each of the four climate zones around Australia, where most of our population lives. I talk to very experienced Passive House designer Ben Caine, the director of the award-winning practice Leanhaus Architecture in Perth. Ben’s architectural mission is to deliver well-thought-out, mindful, architectural homes to the passive house standard, at less cost than a typical architecturally designed home. Ben explains the Passive House design specifics for Warm Temperate, plus he shares ideas on cost savings and heaps of other information and insights from his years of experience to help you better understand Passive House. Australian Architects can claim formal CPD hours for these podcasts. MORE INFORMATIONFind everything you need on the Renovation Collaborative website. www.renovationcollaborative.com.auPODCAST Key points summary, timestamps and resource linksFREE RESOURCES Transcript edited into clear Q&A.CPD Australian architects can find more information on CPD, and COURSES Eleven easy to read courses demystifying the entire home design and construction process. KEY POINT SUMMARY1. Through his practice, Leanhaus Architecture, Ben delivers well-thought-out, mindful architectural homes to the passive house standard for a lower cost than a typical architecturally designed home. His practice proves that if you are open to finding efficiencies across design and construction, you can have a passive house or high-performance home without the additional cost. 2. Ben generally designs to the Passive House standard without going as far as certification for the simple reason that Passive House certification adds cost. However, it’s essential to note that during the first four years of Leanhaus Architecture, Ben and his team went to great lengths to model, test and optimize every design and understand the exact formula for success. They can now confidently deliver to the passive house standard without the extra cost. 3. The 5 Passive House design components for a Warm temperate climate are as follows:Windows are double-glazed and always operable. Windows should enable cross ventilation, purging any excess heat build-up, and connection to the outdoors to enjoy comfortable external temperatures during spring and autumn. The fresh air circulation system is an HRV Wall insulation can fit within a typical 90mm timber stud framed wall thickness. No under-slab insulation is required, but sometimes slab edges may require insulation. Only one layer of external wrapping is required; the vapour-permeable weatherproof membrane on the outside of the home is taped, sealed and made...

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• Passive House Design: Mild Temperate

  How do you design a Passive House in a mild temperate climate like Melbourne? In today's episode, I continue to investigate the design specifics for each of the four climate zones around Australia where most of our population lives. I talk to very experienced Passive House designer Andy Marlow, a director of the award winning environmental practice Envirotecture in Victoria and New South Wales.In this episode, Andy explains the Passive House design specifics for Mild Temperate. Plus we talk more about Enerfit, the renovation and retrofit tool, and he shares heaps of other information and insights from his years of experience to help you better understand Passive House.Australian Architects can claim formal CPD hours for these podcasts. MORE INFORMATIONFind everything you need on the Renovation Collaborative website. www.renovationcollaborative.com.auPODCAST Key points summary, timestamps and resource linksFREE RESOURCES Transcript edited into clear Q&A.CPD Australian architects can find more information on CPD, and COURSES Eleven easy to read courses demystifying the entire home design and construction process. KEY POINT SUMMARY1. In terms of the five Passive House design components, mild temperate is very similar to cool temperate. Windows are double or sometimes triple glazed depending on the design. The fresh air circulation system is an HRV Stud framed wall thicknesses are typically 140mm to allow for more insulation, and insulation is required to separate a concrete floor slab from the cool earth temperature below. An internal wrap for air tightness and moisture control is usually required in addition to the exterior weather tight wrap, and Removing thermal bridges is always important. 2. The colour of the roof and walls is considered in the PHPP modelling and affects the design's performance. In cooler climates, dark coloured buildings perform slightly better than light coloured buildings. Dark coloured roof and walls will dry out faster which can be beneficial to reduce any moisture in the wall and roof structure. However, Andy noted that as a nation going forward into climate change and increasing temperatures, generally speaking, lighter coloured buildings are the best solution. 3. Passive House is a performance standard so buildings can be constructed from any material as long as they deliver the required results through the PHPP modelling. Andy references a Passive House that Envirotecture have completed made from straw bale. 4. Passive House certification costs around 3 to 8% extra, however the value it adds far outweighs the extra cost. Envirotecture prefer to build certified Passive Houses over uncertified high performance because of the rigorous testing on site. The quality assurance. 5. When renovating, the whole building must be upgraded to achieve Enerfit certification. Improvements must be made to...

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  45:40
• Passive House Design: Cool Temperate

  Passive House design is different in every climate zone. Over the next four podcast episodes, I talk to Passive House designers in the four Australian climate zones where most of our population lives, to discover the key differences. Today I start with Passive House design for cool temperate climates like Canberra and Hobart. I talk to Michael Tolhurst, the director of award winning practice Envelope Architecture in Canberra. Michael clearly explains the Passive House design specifics for cool temperate. Plus he shares heaps of other information and insights to help you better understand Passive House designAustralian Architects can claim formal CPD hours for these podcasts. MORE INFORMATIONFind everything you need on the Renovation Collaborative website. www.renovationcollaborative.com.auPODCAST Key points summary, timestamps and resource linksFREE RESOURCES Transcript edited into clear Q&A.CPD Australian architects can find more information on CPD, and COURSES Eleven easy to read courses demystifying the entire home design and construction process. KEY POINTS SUMMARY1. Passive House design for cool temperate climates has a focus on warming. Of the four Australian climate zones accommodating most of our population, cool temperate is the most extreme. In Canberra, winters regularly go down to less than -5 degrees Celsius and in summer can reach the 40s. 2. Using a compact building form makes the Passive House standard much easier to achieve in more extreme climates like cool temperate. However, if you want a more linear form because of your site or to capture views etc. The PHPP tool can be used to determine building form alternatives and compensate for heat loss in other ways. 3. Windows are generally triple glazed. The window glass area reduces as the climate becomes colder to reduce heat loss. However, it's still critical to have opening windows in all habitable rooms to get cross ventilation when needed. And shading is still very important to prevent too much heat gain. 4. The fresh air circulation system is a HRV, which stands for Heat Recovery Ventilation System. The HRV provides a constant supply of filtered fresh air and incorporates a highly efficient heat exchanger to retain heat from inside the house. Some additional mechanical heating, usually from a reverse cycle air conditioner, is generally required. As a side note, Michael clearly explains how Passive House heating is generated from three sources:i) Solar heat gain, ii) Internal gains from occupants, showering, cooking and equipment, etc. iii) Mechanical heating. The air tightness and insulation in a Passive House very efficiently retains the heat inside the house. 5. An internal air barrier is required in a cool temperate climate zone and this is in addition to the vapour permeable external membrane used for weatherproofing. Heat energy

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  51:17
• How to build a Passive House

  How do you build a Passive House? In this episode you'll find out about the rigorous testing and photographic documentation of evidence that has to happen on site to guarantee that Passive House buildings deliver what they promise. I talk to very experienced Passive House builder Matthew Carland from Carland Constructions in Melbourne. Matthew openly shares everything that happens on site. You'll learn why he believes that Passive Houses are actually easier to build than typical homes. Plus heaps of other information to help you better understand Passive House construction. And let me tell you, if you still aren't convinced about the quality and value of the Passive House standard, in this episode, you'll find out how remarkable it really is.Australian Architects can claim formal CPD hours for these podcasts. MORE INFORMATIONFind everything you need on the Renovation Collaborative website. www.renovationcollaborative.com.auPODCAST Key points summary, timestamps and resource linksFREE RESOURCES Transcript edited into clear Q&A.CPD Australian architects can find more information on CPD, and COURSES Eleven easy to read courses demystifying the entire home design and construction process. KEY POINTS SUMMARY1. Involving the builder during design is critical for keeping the project on budget. PHPP is used to test and find a balance of the best design and product options that meet the Passive House standard. And so when you include the builder's cost advice during PHPP design stages, you can effectively balance performance and cost to get the optimal outcome. 2. Passive House projects are easier to build than typical houses because of the high level of communication and collaboration. A specific outcome (Passive House certification) must be delivered and everyone wants to get it right. It's a shared goal. Everyone involved cares about what they do and works together. 3. The main difference between Passive House construction and typical construction is airtightness. Successful building wrapping is about getting prepared and thinking ahead. Once you understand, it's not that difficult, but there is extra time and cost involved. To wrap a standard house internally, it takes about three or four people an extra week. 4. Passive House certification gives you the unquestionable guarantee that what is designed is built. There is no other method on the market that will do that. There are multiple tests during construction to confirm that everything is built correctly, including blower door testing to confirm the air tightness, thermal imaging to confirm the insulation is installed correctly, and visual inspections and photographic documentation of evidence to confirm the right products and installation methods have been used. 5. To get started as a builder, do the Passive House Trade course. After that, building wrap suppliers will show you how to use their products and all the other information you need is...

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