NZWood print logo

Archive for the ‘Energy Efficiency’ Category

May
27

Aktivhaus Generates More Heat and Power Than It Needs

We love the Passivhaus, or Passive House as it is known in America, where houses are designed to be so well insulated and sited that they need no energy other than passive solar gain to keep warm. But it can be limiting; all the windows face south and they tend to be boxy and small. Architects and builders want to break out of this limitation; we have previously shown the Plusenergihus, a Passivhaus with more windows and a solar powered heating system. Now we learn from Jetson Green about the Aktivhaus, set up to not only h... [ Read More ]

Apr
7

Daylighting: Changing the Environmental Impact of Buildings One Window at a Time

Photo credit: Getty Images No disrespect to Thomas Edison—the invention of the light bulb was nothing short of revolutionary—but a decade-long trend in building-science research indicates that people are simply more comfortable, productive, and more important, happier in buildings that use the sun's rays as the primary source of lighting. While tapping into natural sunlight isn't a fresh idea, recent advances in lighti... [ Read More ]