Home Style Green

What is the IDEAL House, and how will everyone soon be able to see it? I talk with owner, Murray Durbin and he shares his inspiration and discusses some of the features that make this house special. We also talk numbers! For more, visit: http://idealhouse.org

Dean Buckeridge has been designing energy efficient, passive solar homes in Christchurch for as long as I’ve can remember. Along with Russell Devlin, and Bob Burnett, I hold Dean in high regard for leadership in this field. It’s great to see the rest of the market finally starting to demand more of their knowledge and skills. In this episode of Home Style Green, we discuss why asthma is the norm i...

What's a fast, inexpensive way to build that can result in high performance homes?  It is of course, prefab. And this week I talk with Melissa Savage from Metrapanel. http://www.metrapanel.co.nz/ I'd love to get your questions, comments and feedback: http://www.homestylegreen.com https://twitter.com/mcutlerwelsh https://www.facebook.com/HomeStyleGreen http://www.pinterest.com/homestylegreen/ https...

What could we learn from a creative entrepreneur who's looking at ways to inspire others to live to their highest potential? No, you haven't tuned into the wrong podcast. It is something a bit different today as I talk with Paul Blais from Doubt the Doubts.  Paul also has some great experience selling and installing efficient lighting.  Links :  http://www.doubtthedoubts.com http://www.gotogirl.co...

Damien Hochberg is the Operations Manager at Go Green Expo. I caught up with him to find out what the Expo's all about, who's exhibiting and who should attend.  I also wanted to know, why Damien felt the need to create the Go Green Expo.  If you're in Wellington this week, head along to the TSB Area. I'm going to be there, so come and say hello! http://www.gogreenexpo.co.nz (Please note, views exp...

Why should all buildings designed for people, be designed by an architect, and how can architects be more influential? Architects, like all building professionals, need to run a good business to be effective. Mark R. LePage is an Entrepreneur Architect. He's passionate about the business of architecture, so much so that he writes, podcasts and coaches other architects how to run successful busines...

Chris McKay has built what looks like a fairly regular home for his family on the outskirts of Christchurch. Like many residents, they were forced to leave their previous home following the Canterbury earthquakes in 2011. Now they have a warm, comfortable, resilient home and Chris hasn't had a power bill since moving. In this episode, I find out how he did it.  Also check out some of Chris' stunni...

How important are curtains when it comes to improving the performance of your home?  As Chad Keven from Heavy Duty Curtains explains, it's not just about the drapes, the curtain track that supports the curtain can also play a big role in improving the insulation properties.  So how much extra does it cost? Tune in to find out. You might be surprised! For more, visit: http://www.heavydutycurtains.c...

Home is where the heart is. It's also where our lungs are, where our eyes and ears are, where our whole bodies, and where our minds are. In this week's show, I read a short audio essay about why we should dream and why we should ask for, and build better homes.  Links: http://homestylegreen.com/greenhomedreamteam/ http://solarking.co.nz/ http://www.customconstruction.co.nz/

What's the impact of where all the stuff comes from that you use when creating your dream home, and how do you measure it? That's what LCA (life cycle analysis) is all about, and that's what eTool is all about. This week, I talk to eTool creator, Alex Bruce.  Growing up on a farm helped shape Alex's appreciation for the outdoors. He went on to study Mechanical Engineering and while working in remo...

New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities are hosting a launch event on 20th August 2013 in Wellington for the book 'Homes People Can Afford" The book was put together by Sarah Bierre, Philippa Howden-Chapman and Lisa Early from He Kainga Oranga, the Housing and Health Research Programme . I discussed with Sarah, why they wrote the book, what housing affordability actually means and why it's impor...

Danny Squires and Martin Luff met on Twitter, were inspired by a TEDex video and have since co-founded WikiHouse NZ. With this project, they're setting out to change the world and to 'make things better' by design.  Links : WikiHouse NZ Website: http://spacecraft.co.nz/ TV3 News item: http://www.3news.co.nz/Chch-developers-plan-jigsaw-puzzle-house/tabid/423/articleID/307657/Default.aspx http://blo...

In this short, sharp episode of Home Style Green, I answer a listener question about insulating the edges of a concrete floor slab, what to do if you can't afford to install solar hot water, thermally broken windows, getting extra insulation in your walls and LED lighting. 

Design Navigator is a great, online resource for calculating the thermal performance of your house plan. I spoke with developer, Albrecht Stoecklein about why he created it and a great new feature he's just added. References http://www.designnavigator.co.nz/index.html http://www.energywise.govt.nz/resource/design-sun http://www.ecotect.co.nz/PDF/eecapsfs.pdf http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ec/...

Lisa Madarasz was frustrated by not being able to find good products for her home that were going to be good for her family and good for the planet. (Does that sound familiar?) With so much 'eco' marketing out there, how can you tell what's truly green? To help, Lisa created Ecodeals.co.nz links: http://www.ecodeals.co.nz https://www.facebook.com/ecodeals http://www.environmentalchoice.org.nz/ htt...

What's a "Building Whisperer"? David Bartlett leads the IBM’s Smarter Buildings initiative, helping clients create more green, cost-efficient cities, campuses, corporate offices, commercial sites, casinos, hospitals and neighborhoods worldwide.  As IBM’s “Building Whisperer,” he is a vocal advocate at industry events and in media for using data analysis to better control buildings’ function and ta...

ZETA Design + Build produce modular buildings inside a factory. I spoke with CEO, Howard Koenig this week to talk about why anyone would want a factory built home. Turns out there are some very compelling reasons. Listen in to find out more. Useful links: http://www.zetabuilt.com/ Michelle Kaufmann PreFab Green:  http://amzn.to/12HYjJq http://www.ccanz.org.nz/news-ccanz.aspx?id=210 http://earthshi...

I've just come back from three days at buildnz designex. This week I report back on some of the highlights from the show and some great new products to look out for. Plus, a question about reducing VOCs and toxicity in a new home: Don't be fooled by the name 'eco..' Look for known, third party verification like ISO 14001, Environment Choice or FSC and looked for reporte figures on VOCs Use Enviros...

Aridon is a brand new product to keep your house warmer, dryer and to help build it quicker. And it's a Kiwi invention. Sound too good to be true? I spoke with creators and owners of the company, Christina Gomes and Stephen Pinkney. For more information check out: www.aridon.co.nz You can also check out Aridon, and me this weekend at BuildNZ | Designex: http://buildnz.com/ http://buildnz.com/certi...

Vector is the electricity distribution, or the 'lines' company for Auckland. Vector is not an electricity generator (in the traditional sense). Nor are they a retailer (in the traditional sense). So why are they now selling solar oiwer systems for homes that generate electricity? I spoke with CEO Simon Mackenzie to find out.  For more information about their system, check out http://vector.co.nz/s...

The New Zealand Building Code is implementation of the Building Act 2004. It's a 'performanced-based' code, but don't let the name fool you. In this epside I discuss why the Building Code can't be relied upon to produce a good home for you, and what you can do about it.  Useful Link:  EECA Report Investigatin quality of insulation in new build residential homes: http://www.eeca.govt.nz/node/11719

Home Style Green is here to help people build homes that are good for people and good for the planet. In episode 30 , I spoke with Elrond Burrell and asked if Passive House was really relevant to New Zealand. This sparked some great debate and I subsequently caught up with New Zealand based Passive House designer, Jon Iliffe of eHaus . eHaus is New Zealand's first building company solely dedicated...

What would you do if you had 6 months to go away and study whatever you wanted?  Phil McLean is a secondary school teacher who's passionate about design. He was given the challenge to go and find a topic that would put in the shoes of a beginner learner.  The result is a fresh perspective on solutions for our building industry. Phil's made his outputs freely available, including a Google Map of th...

Prefab, (short for prefabrication), offers significant advantages to buidling. House can be: Higher quality , with improved finishing and attention to detail without deterioration from being exposed to the elements Produced quickly , being assembled in a matter of days or even hours Very resource efficient , producing little construction waste (a big environmental problem for the sector) Affordabl...