Efficient wall / Guides

...wall assemblies and insulation products has long been characterized using R-value, a metric which describes thermal resistance. While R-value is useful, it doesn’t tell the whole story about heat flow through building enclosures such as walls and roofs. Recently, a study by RDH Building Engineering Ltd . h as shown t...

...wall to give the required clearance underneath, or trim the carpet down around the base of the heaters. If the air can’t circulate, then they can’t heat or cool efficiently. Close proximity to something combustible like a carpet can also cause premature failure, or worst-case scenario in electric ones, a fire. Incorr...

...efficient (SHGC): The Solar Heat Gain Coefficient is a scale from 0 to 100 that indicates the amount of solar gain you will get through a pane of glass. The higher the number, the better the solar gain. Energy Rating (ER): After U-value, SHGC and the various designs and materials listed above, you will be thankfu...

...wall of the dam. Would you choose the height of that concrete wall randomly, or would want an even level of concrete to hold back as much water as possible? You certainly wouldn't want an extremely high wall on one side and lower on another; the relationship between heat movement and insulation is a bit like that. Th...

...wall damage and proper stormwater management - (eaves troughs, ground sloping away from the house, etc.) Interior design and functionality of space Soundproofing from the exterior and interior noise transmission Interior air quality does it smell fresh, stale, or like chemicals or tobacco smoke? Good quality wi...

A resilient home for Sustainability Northern Quebec isn’t a place where one might expect to look for a model of resilience . It’s bone-chilling cold in the winter with 10,450 heating degree days per year (Fahrenheit degree-days, base 65°F); there isn’t all that much sunlight in the winter, and Quebec—let alone north...

...efficient house - one that could radically reduce home energy bills by being built efficiently enough to create huge energy savings compared to a standard "code built" house? Especially if it is possible to build comfortable and super-efficient homes to Passive House standard at around the same cost of those currently ...

...efficient living. If we must live smarter and smaller in our changing urban environment, as an architect, I ask myself, how do we design spaces to support people through this shift? Well, we start by asking the question: What makes a home livable? This query sparked the Livable Homes initiative launched by Perkin...

...wall drying abilities means that this house will have a longer than average operational life. This will help balance the added 'carbon' investment in terms of the embodied energy of building materials. For our building envelope we will use Roxul mineral wool insulation, which has a high embodied energy but superior d...

...wall itself. There is also air quality issues to consider as you may have mold and mildew as well. In such a case you may be wise to replace an individual window. The problem here is of course the 'slippery slope', in that replacing only one window on a wall may stand out, and replacing the windows on only one wall o...