Key To Green Home
You hear several great ideas for designing and building an energy efficient and eco friendly home. From thermal mass and R-values, we break down some of the most important terms that are associated with your environmentally conceived home. So next time you pick up that green guide, try these terms on for size:
Passive Solar Design: A broad term used to describe non-mechanical design of the building’s infrastructure that allows regulation of internal temperature. Principles include orientation of room, location of windows and thermal mass (see below).
Thermal mass: is a material’s ability to store heat. Brick, stone and concrete have high thermal mass; glass and timber don’t. Eco designers will strategically place these materials to produce heat sinks that absorb heat in the winter and remain cool in the summer.
R – value: A measure of ‘thermal resistance’ or the material’s insulating properties. For instance Pink Batts insulation has a measure of R1.5 while strawbale comes in at R4, meaning it holds heat better.
Cross ventilation: Breezes from the outside are naturally drawn into the house to help cool it down. In good design, windows will be positioned in line with each other on opposite walls to create the maximum cooling effect.
Double glazing: Two sheets of glass are sealed together to make a single glazed piece with an air space in between them that help trap heat between the two panes. The air pocket essentially acts as an insulating barrier.
Grey water: Waste water that comes from the laundry, shower, dishwasher and bathroom sink that can be collected and re-used in the garden. It doesn’t include black water which comes from the toilet and kitchen sink.
