Leaky homes need more energy to keep warm or cool. Sealing the gaps in a house, or increasing airtightness, is a common tip to reduce energy consumption, as well as make the house more comfortable to live in. However, people need a certain amount of fresh air in their homes to maintain air quality.

Buildings are major consumers of energy for heating and cooling. The number of buildings is growing rapidly with demand for energy. To reduce consumption, governments worldwide have implemented codes, standards, and building practices. In New South Wales, Australia the planning department introduced a web-based energy-modelling tool intended to increase the thermal performance of the residential...

Heatwaves across much of the country this summer have revealed a serious problem with our national housing stock. Wendy Miller looks at smarter design and construction, better rating systems and the role of government and industry to overcoming barriers to better housing design.

Context - Minimum thermal performance standards for residential building envelopes have been increasing in many countries for several decades, addressing concerns about occupant comfort, operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Simulation tools play a role in assessing the space heating/cooling load of new buildings and for evaluating options for systematic retrofitting of exisiting dwellings. The...

The study investigates relationships of winter indoor relative humidity and R-value of building envelope of the Auckland houses.