Home Style Green

Ian McHugh's specialisations include Code for Sustainable Homes Assessor, and 'Eco-Refurbisher'. I want to know how good designers and architects can do more work involving energy efficient, sustainable, eco buildings. As a building professional, how can you get more of this type of work? Also, we discuss Ian's mass customisation 'IKEA-style' concept for climate adaption, the IDEAhaus. http://home...

What's earth building and why is it just as relevant today as it has been for centuries? Can you get it wet, and can you get a consent for it? These are just a couple of the questions I ask Verena Maeder, chair of the Earth Building Association of New Zealand and owner or Solid Earth.  http://www.homestylegreen.com/80

The BRANZ House Insulation Guide Fifth Edition includes waffle pod slab systems, and a concrete slab edge insulation update. I review the options.

Lesley England knows how to design eco friendly homes and importantly for her, she knows how to attract the right clients who want her to design eco friendly homes. It's all in the name - ecohabitats. Three key factors for designing eco friendly homes are: Size Orientation Materials Find out more at http://homestylegreen.com/78

What exactly is uPVC and is it a good option for window frames? I speak with Oleg Tolmachev of www.warmwindows.co.nz to find out if uPVC windows are a good fit for New Zealand conditions. 

Mark experienced his own building project as a client in 2004 and recognised the need for better information. He was handed a copy of the Building Guide from the local Council.  The Building Guide was a different publication then and Mark saw potential for how it could help prospective homeowners get better information. So in 2006, Mark Graham bought the magazine.  He explains to me why he hated a...

What's self-help housing and why is it important? Canopy Housing Project is a self-help housing organisation based in Leeds, U.K., creating decent homes by renovating derelict ones. Steve Hoey has been running Canopy Housing for the last six years and I asked him why he does what he does.  Also in this episode, the five essentials of self-help housing and Steve's great book recommendation. http://...

Would you buy a prefabricated, modular home made in China? Ecotech Homes are versatile, modular housing solutions. I caught up with their Major Project Director, Craig Nisbet just before he took off to Ghana to talk about prefabricated, affordable, quality homes. I found out there are some good reasons to consider factory built, modular homes.

'Affordable housing' is a term that's often misused to describe only the purchase price of a house. But to be truly affordable, the total cost of living in that house needs to be considered, including commuting, power bills and other utilities, maintenance and even health. Daiman Otto understands that affordable housing means more than just supplying houses cheaply. Daiman's involved in a number o...

Jessica Eyers is a passionate advocate for sustainable, green design. As I discovered during this interview, Jessica is also really interested in the science of green building and understanding what works and what doesn't work. For more, go to  http://homestylegreen.com/72

Jennifer Crawford used to sell houses, now she helps people to buy the house that they really want. What's the difference? Listen in to find out! If you're in New Zealand, you can find a Homestar Homecoach here: http://www.homestar.org.nz/the-journey/homecoach If you want help with your new home, get in touch and I'll see if I can point you in the right direction. 

How to do the type of design work you want, from where you want. Duncan Sinclair is the founder of Black Pine Architects. His practice and his home are in Whanganui, but thanks to the internet, his work can be anywhere.   http://www.blackpine.co.nz/

Dan Heyworth is on a mission to improve the range and quality of houses available to New Zealanders.  After returning to New Zealand from UK a few years ago, Dan realised there are really only two main options for getting a house built, either going to a building company for a cheaper, mainstream house; or going to an architect for an expensive one.  Box Living is both an architectural firm and a...

An article  about a couple of energy efficient homes in New Zealand caught my attention recently. I decided to look up the owners of one and Ron was very generous with his time. I was also grateful to be able to record our conversation so I could share the learning and successes with you.  If you'd like advice or recommendations on your future home, please get in touch. I'd love to help.  Link:  h...

Nudura is a brand of Insulated Concrete Forms, which as CEO Murray Snider describes, is like giant Lego blocks. When the polystyrene pieces are slotted together and then concrete poured into the central cavity, creating airtight walls, the resulting comfort and thermal performance is impressive.  Murray was recently visiting New Zealand from his home in Canada and I took the opportunity to find ou...

Sustainability Options is an 'altruistic business'. Find out how they contribute 85% of their profit back to the community, provide free home assessments that save households between 10% and 30% on their power bills, and their recent campaign to help one family in need. 

In this weeks show, I discuss the evidence that there is monetary value in getting a rating for your home.  References: http://www.usgbc.org/sites/default/files/ValueofGreenHomeLabelsStudy_July2012.pdf http://www.nathers.gov.au/about/publications/pubs/eer-house-price-act.pdf http://besthome.org.nz/showhome.html http://www.homestar.org.nz/newsroom/value-and-affordability-homestar Related Episode: H...

What comes to mind when you hear the term ‘cohousing’. For many, there many be some negative connotations. The reality though is that there are so many advantages to sharing some things with your neighbours, while still maintaining a strong sense of privacy and your own space.  Robin Allison trained as an architect in order to help create a more sustainable future. She ended up initiating what was...

What other form of heating provides a coefficient of performance, around 5 - 7? That’s the promise, and the reality of ground source heat pump technology. This week I spoke to Senior Hydrogeologist at Geoscience Consulting NZ, Huw Williams about this amazing technology. We discuss if it’s suitable for houses in New Zealand and why Huw is so interested in ground source heat pumps as a sustainable t...

The key characteristics that Jo and Shay were after when they designed and built the Zero Energy House were: Comfort and Health Affordability - of building AND operating Inspiration  We also discuss some of the specific features that have made it possible to bring these characteristics to life.  For more, check out http://zeroenergyhouse.co.nz/

Ben Adam-Smith discusses EcoBuild 2014, what makes an energy efficient house, constraints versus compromise, new versus retrofit, why houses don't use energy, and population growth.  Also, find out why Ben hasn't had a bath for a year! Links: http://www.houseplanninghelp.com/ https://www.thesnippetapp.com/web/writers/benadam-smith http://www.ecobuild.co.uk/

Louisa Chase is the Project Manager for EcoFest 2014. The festival runs from March 15th through to April 13th and has everything from films, to gardening and composting seminars, eco-house tours and even a sustainable fashion show.  We discuss why Kaipatiki exists, the difference one person can make, and ‘Nana Technologies’.  For more, be sure to check out http://kaipatiki.org.nz/ecofest/ and http...

Adrian Feasey is a solar consultant, so he knows a thing or two about energy efficiency. Why then would he purchase a 1960s, weatherboard house with no insulation and begin a renovation project to try and make it warm, comfortable and cost effective?  Adrian is showcasing his house as part of an eco-house tour in the upcoming Kaipatiki Ecofest.  Ecofest Website : http://kaipatiki.org.nz/ecofest/ E...

James L. Salmon is the President of  Collaborative Construction , an organisation created to encourage a better way of building.  After spending much of his legal career helping sort out disputes between building owners, contractors and suppliers, James is convinced there's a much better way of organising, communicating and conducting the design, procurement and building processes. 

I caught up this week with Lois Easton from Beacon Pathway. Lois is one of the organisers for the 'Building a Better New Zealand' conference coming up in September.  Submissions for abstracts is open until March 9th, so if you're interested, check out their website for more details. http://www.buildingabetternewzealand.co.nz/ Also in this week's show: NZ Tallest building announced:  http://www.3ne...