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HEATWAVES! January 2026 house performance
Four lines from the January data logging of our passive solar home, 80km north of Canberra.…
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Are pillars under a slab good for summer thermal performance?
At the time I bemoaned their cost, but perhaps it was all for the best. When…
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Energy efficient homes – why recommend approaches that massively increase cost?
Despite having been a professional writer on technical topics for about 40 years, my degree major…
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Source air for night flush cooling of thermal mass
As we know, opening the house at night cools the thermal mass. But where does that…
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But it *feels* so cool!
A key reason that a passive solar home feels so cool in summer is because you’re…
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Not much new is needed for much better housing in Australia
I constantly read about the need for radical change in housing in Australia. People say that…
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Payback times of energy efficient house features are often 50-100 years!
If you pay extra for energy efficiency features in your house, the payback time can be…
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Fads and fashions
When designing and/or building an energy efficient house, be wary of fads and fashions. Many people…
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For energy efficiency, window sizes and locations are critical
Windows in houses, yes even double glazed ones like these, act as big thermal holes in…
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Q&A: Water thermal mass
Question: I don’t understand how your internal water tanks work to warm the house. Is there…
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Rules of thumb are now outdated for best passive design
When it comes to energy efficient home design, I am a traditionalist. The passive solar techniques…
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Southern sunshine reflectors
An energy efficient, passive solar house uses sunshine to heat it, and in a different way…
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DIY blower door testing individual rooms
For our passive solar house in the build north of Canberra, I’ve upgraded my blower door…
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Don’t think of passive solar only when you’ve finished the home design!
If you are building a passive solar house, it’s critical that you think of energy efficiency…
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Curtains choices are really important
Curtains. It doesn’t sound a very interesting topic but in an energy-efficient home, window curtains –…
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Get the build inspected at each stage
In this blog I have repeatedly stated that you don’t need special materials or trades to…
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The best tool to assess comfort
The Centre for the Built Environment of University of California, Berkeley, has an excellent online tool…
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Black bulb sensor measures radiant heat
I recently added a black bulb wall temperature sensor to my passive solar house, in construction…
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Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels
Measurements of CO2 levels in our passive solar house have been very interesting. Outside air is…
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Energy efficient home design – grass roots versus top down
Over the last few years, as I have been building our house and writing the book,…
Australian Passive Solar Home 