This note was reviewed and approved for currency in August 2018. Insulation and thermal mass are highly effective ways to reduce energy use and improve comfort in buildings. Insulation reduces the rate or speed of heat transfer through a building ...

The primary intention of passive design is to create a thermally comfortable building with reduced demand on mechanical (active) forms of heating, air conditioning and ventilation. This paper provides design practitioners with a general overview of ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency in November 2018. This note was prepared by the Tasmanian Branch of the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES), with cartography by Dawn Hendrick. It presents data on the annual cycles of insolation ...

This note was prepared by Robert McGregor of the Tasmanian Branch of the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES). It outlines the appropriate detailing for Tasmania’s cool temperate climate, and covers cold bridging, reverse brick veneer, ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency in October 2018. The Passivhaus, or Passive House, standard is a rigorous, voluntary and performance-based standard, with fundamental objectives of thermal comfort and energy efficiency. Originally ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency by the author in December 2018.  Thermal mass can be effectively employed in buildings to increase occupants' thermal comfort conditions. This paper seeks to clarify the ways in which this can be ...

Put simply, solar access is the availability of sunlight to a property. For architects, the need to consider solar access in the overall design of a structure is two-fold: Firstly, the structure must be designed and situated on the property to ...

This note was reviewed and approved for currency in November 2018. This note deals with architectural issues associated with photovoltaic (PV) power systems integrated into building design. It follows on from EDG note TEC 4, ‘Photovoltaic Cells – ...

Alternative low energy air-conditioning solutions are now being commonly used in preference to more traditional air-conditioning solutions for commercial applications. In recent years we have seen an emergence of the application of chilled ceiling ...

The operational stage of a building accounts for up to 65 per cent of the life cycle cost.  However the ability of the Facility Manager to deliver a high performance building environment is largely governed by the initial design, construction and ...