There are not many new ideas in the building industry. The basic concepts have been around for a while. ‘High-performance’ products and design details that might be described as ‘innovative’ here in New Zealand are likely to be standard practice somewhere else. With building experience in Europe and Scandanavia Richard Eden is well placed to help New Zealand builders do things better. He can often be found teaching builders around the country how to do a good quality install of good quality windows. The post 274: Doing Windows Well appeared first on Home Style Green ..read more

Brad Wills is Director: Strategic Customers & Programs at Schneider Electric. Based in Tennessee, he has three decades of experience with the organisation. We discuss the diverse range of products and services now offered by Schneider as well as the exciting opportunities for smart metering, microgrids, onsite battery storage, home automation and more. The post 273: Our Homes Are Getting Smart appeared first on Home Style Green ..read more

In 2007 when Kim Feldborg arrived in New Zealand he was surprised at how cold and inefficient the houses were, despite growing up in much colder European climates. Originally from Denmark, Kim has built houses in Greenland, Norway, Germany and England. He now enjoys life in a Certifed Passive House he built himself in Taupō. Kim would like more homes to be fully Passive House, particularly around the central North Island which experiences cold winters. He’s pragmatic about his work though, recognising that many people are only just finding out about Passive House. If he can help educate other ..read more

Growing up in a typical kiwi home, it wasn’t until he had lived in the UK for a bit that Damien McGill realised we don’t need to suffer through winter in cold, damp houses. Damien is an engineer and knows how things should be put together so they don’t fall apart. But he’s interested in more than that. In this chat, Simon Cator and I discuss how Damien got into the Superhome Movement. We also review his experience working on his own ‘Super-Reno’. Damien McGill is the Director of Healthy Home Cooperation. The post 271: Renovating to Super Comfort and Health appeared first on Home Style Green ..read more

Richard Houghton now lives in a very good, healthy home. But that wasn't always the case. The post 270: From Villa to Very Nice House appeared first on Home Style Green ..read more

Bert Sarkkinen has built a successful timber framing company around a solid philosophy grounded in the style and craftsmanship of a unique and timeless form of building. Bert appeared on the Home Style Green podcast back in episode 176. A couple of years on, Arrow Timber Framing has expanded into a larger facility and Bert has recently released the second edition of his book, The Art of Hybrid Timber Framing. The post 269: The Style of Sustainability appeared first on Home Style Green ..read more

Zola Rose has a vision for regenerative housing as a solution for improving communities and sustainability. She brings diverse and international experience to Aotearoa New Zealand where she now calls Nelson her home. Real estate has long been used as an investment and a means of making a profit in New Zealand. Zola explains how this has tended to undermine the values that we should otherwise associate with where we live. Housing should protect, shelter and foster community, but we’ve tended towards the commoditisation of housing. There are solutions that can help provide better housing and hel ..read more

Mariano Croce is an Argentine entrepreneur who relocated into Queenstown with his young family just before the first COVID lockdown in 2020. He has a background in prefabrication, having co-founded a modular building company in Argentina when he was 24. More than 15 years on, Mariano has created Modulo.nz to provide architecturally designed, high-performance, modular homes built in New Zealand. Market Research The year before relocating into NZ, Mariano joined PrefabNZ. He contacted Pam Bell and explained that he wanted to start a Modular business in Cromwell. She said that before even thinkin ..read more

Darren O’Dea is a self-confessed building physics nerd. Along with co-founder David Carroll, he has helped to create Speckel, a platform for designing low carbon, healthier, durable and energy-efficient buildings. Having proven popular with architects and consultants in Australia, Speckel is now available in New Zealand. Find out more at https://www.speckel.io/ Upcoming webinar Find out how Speckel will now be able to help with the updated H1 Energy Efficiency requirements in New Zealand https://www.linkedin.com/events/theh1energyefficiencyupdates6891224376151293952/ The post 266: It’s Time to ..read more

Sabine Schoenberg is co-founder of the Smart Healthy Green Living network, a collection of videos and streamed content on everything from tiny homes and carpentry to interior design and gardening. Through her network, Sabine is promoting the ‘Do One Thing‘ campaign to help everyone take a step towards living a more sustainable life. Sustainability, says Sabine, is not a luxury that’s only applicable to a select few. And since many of us have been spending more and more time inside, we’re getting more interested in how healthy (or not) our homes are. Now you can find information and inspiration ..read more