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Adapting to different temperatures
The most common way of assessing thermal comfort is to measure inside air temperature. If the…
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Some thermal camera images – December
Here are some thermal camera images taken inside our house in December, the first month of…
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How cool do you want to go overnight in summer?
One thing we’re discovering with our passive solar home in summer is that the overnight temperatures…
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Don’t touch interior surfaces to see how hot or cold they are!
You may be tempted to place a hand on an interior house surface to see if…
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Architect designed, energy efficient homes are very expensive
Since building our house, one thing I have become intrigued about is the cost of new…
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In Australia, Passivhaus is largely a giant scam
If you’re interested in energy efficient building in Australia, you are sure to have come across…
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For best value, use common materials and trades!
I am writing about southern Australia, but I imagine the same would apply in most locations.…
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Our house performance – December 2025
OK, the results for our passive solar house are available for December – the first month…
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Switching multiple amplifiers and speakers
It’s not an energy efficient home feature, but it’s one I am very pleased with in…
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Should you insulate under the slab?
When you use the concrete slab as the heat / cool storage mechanism in a passive…
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Western shade in summer but not winter
In homes in warm climates, western-facing glazing is a big problem in terms of heating the…
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Are windows getting smaller because of poor design?
New homes in Australia now need to meet 7-star energy rating. That’s actually pretty easy with…
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Should the toilet room be heated?
One of the interesting things about energy-efficient home design is the underlying heating/cooling philosophy – something…
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Northern windows and thermal mass
In a passive solar house design, window area and orientation are critical to performance. Pictured here…
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Doing weird stuff
One benefit of owner-building a new house is that you can do weird stuff without any…
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It’s nothing special – so why keep telling us about it?
I’ve been asked why I keep posting data from my passive solar house. The questions go…
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How thermal mass works in a passive solar house
Many people seem confused about the idea of thermal mass in passive solar houses. First, we…
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How effective is thermal mass?
On this site I talk about using thermal mass to reduce heating and cooling loads in…
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Mechanical heating and cooling in a passive solar home
Most passive solar homes will need some form of mechanical heating and cooling. The systems will…
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Passive solar misinformation
During the research for our house and my book I was quite surprised to come across…
Australian Passive Solar Home 