House Planning Help Podcast

Tomás O’Leary from the Passive House Academy explains why he became an early adopter of the Passivhaus standard and also shares why we need to take every opportunity to retrofit existing buildings, even if it is a phased approach.

Darren Macri from Bleu Nest is a certified Passivhaus builder and consultant, and he explains what this means and how putting together a team who have had training is likely to benefit your low energy build. He also has insights into his own house build which is nearing completion.

Bjørn Kierulf from Createrra explains how you can have the best of both worlds, using almost entirely natural materials to create a house that reaches the Passivhaus Standard.

Jay Shafer from Four Lights Tiny House Company gives us the lowdown of tiny house living. He explains why he initially made the choice, how different life has been since and why he has never looked back. Jay also shares practical advice of what you need to know and do in order to transition to a smaller house.

Andrew Peel from Peel Passive House Consulting explains why the quality assurance procedure is at the heart of the Passivhaus standard. He also feels the process can be useful to improve any building, even if not striving for the standard.

Dylan Lamar from Green Hammer explains how design ideas are communicated in various different ways, from sketches drawn by hand to sophisticated computer models. He also shares the design process at Green Hammer, and how and why house plans evolve.

Sofie Pelsmakers, environmental architect and doctoral researcher at University College London (UCL), busts 10 common environmental design myths. This also serves as a good introduction to The Environmental Design Pocketbook.

Clare Parry, Director of the Australian Passive House Association, explains what it means to work on Passivhaus projects in different climates. What, if anything, changes?

Author Michael Mobbs reflects on what he’s learnt about sustainability over the last 20 years. From living without a car and bringing key services in-house (his home is not connected to mains water, mains electricity or mains drainage) to growing his own food and being careful how he spends his money, Michael considers how effective he has been.

David Winterton from Sydney-based consultancy Ecological Design gives us a rundown of solar photovoltaic (solar PV). We find out how it works, what the key considerations are and why prices of PV panels always seem to be coming down!