20 May 13 3:46 PM
As far as the regulations are concerned you simply need to have the prescribed opening windows. There are going to be two reasons to ventilate, moisture control and adequate fresh air for habitation. ......read more
5 May 13 9:37 PM
Glenn, geekzone.co.nz is a good forum to try for that under home automation. Someone will have used it or similar. The simple Elto type meters can do a kwh consumed measure if that works for what you ......read more
5 May 13 6:05 PM
This is the kind of thing... http://smartnow.co.nz/store/product.php?id_product=10...read more
5 May 13 5:58 PM
For appliances you can buy a meter from somewhere like DSE. The one I have is an Elto and they cost about $25-30 but are usual well worth it. For hard-wired appliances such as HWC you could use a clam......read more
5 May 13 3:00 PM
I think Passivhaus and similar manifestations are great and one might suspect that the end game in the future of our new housing, bar any miracle new technology, would be pretty close to Passivehaus. ......read more
25 Apr 13 6:15 PM
I was more interested in any independent testing re efficiency etc. I'm not knocking Fluecube, I'd be interested in one myself, but we get bombarded with claims about various products and it's someti......read more
25 Apr 13 2:08 PM
Sorry to bring up this old chestnut but I came across this newspaper article the other day about possible insurance issues with the Fluecube. http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/5073618/Chimney-fl......read more
15 Apr 13 1:43 PM
It seems to me that at the heart of climate denial is that for some, particularly of the right wing persuasion, it is simply untenable philosophically and emotionally to accept the implication that ca......read more
14 Apr 13 11:25 PM
Global warming predictions prove accurate. Recently from Geoscience. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/27/climate-change-model-global-warming...read more
25 Jan 13 9:52 AM
What I would aim for (especially given you have solar HW) is to get consumption down to the point where you can go on to the low user rate. That means your monthly line charge goes to about $10 which ......read more
25 Jan 13 9:22 AM
Firstly, I would look at my power bill to see if the HW is on a separate meter. It likely won't be labelled as such but a bit of detective work will find it. Try turning off the hot water switch and s......read more
6 Dec 12 4:51 AM
Very interesting. Looks like it incorporates the "Island effect", for power outages, talked about earlier....read more
20 Nov 12 7:11 PM
I'm not sure if this particular one incorporates it but I have recently read of similar small scale battery systems undergoing certification overseas that stay on when the grid goes out. A change from......read more
20 Nov 12 2:14 PM
...I mean natural disasters....read more
20 Nov 12 2:14 PM
This seems to be the strategy to take, that is, make houses and appliances very energy efficient especially the everyday services such as lighting, Internet access , TV, fridge, then have some small s......read more
20 Nov 12 10:12 AM
"Guess What", I new you couldn't stay away....read more
19 Nov 12 7:44 PM
Thanks Harm Less, perhaps they bumped that limit up a bit as it was pretty low. I guess they are now targeting/assisting smaller scale PV set-ups and those which look to organize there usage timing fo......read more
19 Nov 12 4:35 PM
Here's an article about the Merian price changes. A bit cryptic but it appears houses will be little affected but larger suppliers will have a lines charge. "The company will continue to pay 25 c......read more
3 Nov 12 8:44 PM
With petrol the road user charges are incorporated in the price you pay. A lot of diesel use is off road eg farms, contracting, even trains so the retail price is exclusive of road user charges and th......read more
17 Oct 12 9:10 PM
Greetings John. What are your areas of interest?...read more
16 Oct 12 8:13 PM
Square waves are easy to produce by an inverter(just switching), sine waves require more work. Square waves through transformers etc create harmonics (think of the Fourier analysis of a square wave) a......read more
15 Oct 12 2:43 PM
Also, checking the inverter has enough capacity for the power being drawn might be worthwhile....read more
15 Oct 12 2:36 PM
One would suspect that the inverter is not producing a very clean AC signal resulting in noise rather than a ground loop hum issue. Has it always been this way?...read more
14 Oct 12 9:46 AM
The thickness I used was 9mm. It felt just a bit more stable than the 7.5 and, as a retrofit, I needed minimal increase in wall thickness as I didn't want to move the windows out. Wouldn't be too worr......read more
13 Oct 12 7:35 PM
Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, either. Gypsum boards are widely used overseas for wall linings like here. The bracing certified Gibs are, presumably, much modified from the standard and tested but......read more
30 Jul 12 9:51 PM
Yes that's right, unfortunately ripple control coverage is quite patchy these days and only effective in some parts of the country. As to smart meters, it suggests that the current crop can't do the j......read more
28 Jul 12 10:10 AM
I have a few criticisms of the report. It says our hydro peaking capability is quite limited but doesn't really quantify that and doesn't take into account that as peaking capacity effectively becomes......read more
26 Jul 12 7:37 PM
I think what raises the eye is whether plywood is a suitable cladding. If it's tanilized it will last but is likely to absorb a lot of moisture when it rains. How about putting something like corrugat......read more
26 Jul 12 1:59 PM
Here's a link to a report, just out, by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright, examining the benefits of Solar Hot Water in terms of climate change etc. and whether government......read more
3 Jul 12 11:18 AM
Sorry!...read more
3 Jul 12 11:16 AM
Dean, I think the worm has definitely turned with regard to the momentum to build low energy houses though I imagine it can appear frustrating when you are trying to push for it in the industry. I thi......read more
3 Jul 12 11:16 AM
Dean, I think the worm has definitely turned with regard to the momentum to build low energy houses though I imagine it can appear frustrating when you are trying to push for it in the industry. I thi......read more
3 Jul 12 11:16 AM
Dean, I think the worm has definitely turned with regard to the momentum to build low energy houses though I imagine it can appear frustrating when you are trying to push for it in the industry. I thi......read more
3 Jul 12 11:16 AM
Dean, I think the worm has definitely turned with regard to the momentum to build low energy houses though I imagine it can appear frustrating when you are trying to push for it in the industry. I thi......read more
2 Jul 12 8:14 PM
I was a bit skeptical of the claim that it would need no heating at all. I missed what part of the country it was in but thought the extra 50ml of wall thickness would not be enough. Perhaps they mean......read more
29 Jun 12 7:51 PM
I wonder if they've put a bit of an upward slope on that pipe. I imagine hot water might circulate to the highest point in that case and then heat radiate off....read more
28 Jun 12 8:35 PM
I could appreciate more, the desire not to sell off power company assets, if we were paying reduced prices for power that reflected, say, the fact that consumers might have effectively paid off the ca......read more
27 Jun 12 8:43 PM
The thing that gets me about asset sales is everyone says, " No, no, don't sell our assets, you're selling our childrens's future etc etc............" ......but when you mention debt they sa......read more
25 Jun 12 10:37 AM
Would they have to comply with the 60C rule? Though labelled as a HWC the system uses a heat exchanger so the potable water is heated directly and doesn't sit. Actually it surprises me that you could ......read more
23 Jun 12 4:22 PM
Boxing them in or removing is the ideal solution for existing houses though skillions do present a problem as they are often also a low ceiling. I must admit some skepticism about the impact of downli......read more
22 Jun 12 9:20 AM
The Halers Evoled is the first set of Led downlights I've found that tick all the boxes for me.....warm colour option, IC rating, narrowish angle spot, dimming capability leading and trailing. Expensi......read more
21 Jun 12 10:28 PM
....and having a large tank as Mike points out above....read more
21 Jun 12 10:19 PM
I suppose a corollary to that is that in a glycol system or even direct system, if a lot of hot water is drawn off most of the re-heating will be done by the electric element as the thermostat will cu......read more
21 Jun 12 10:02 PM
I think the system Samian is describing is called "drain-back" SHW, said to be the simplest in terms of hardware and most efficient type of SHW system. It's also fool-proof in regard to free......read more
21 Jun 12 5:13 PM
Your basement situation sounds like it might suit a few borer bombs set off each year as it's a reasonably confined space. I never saw the point in the bombs but I understand now they haves residual e......read more
21 Jun 12 4:10 PM
"Riddled with borer" sounds a bit scary to be purchasing but I'm presuming it's structurally ok. I treated some borer recently when putting in underfloor insulation. Options are professional......read more
18 Jun 12 11:21 PM
I'm going to regret asking this but isn't 60C the lowest recommended temp for HWC due to legionella? Lower at the tap but that occurs naturally or via a tempering valve....read more
18 Jun 12 3:23 PM
Nice looking job. The foil won't be much use any more, (other than as a air barrier if no holes) unless there is an air gap around it as conduction becomes the way heat is transferred. Doesn't matter ......read more
14 Jun 12 7:52 PM
So, can you control the individual ducts? E.G Shut off the main zone and leave bedrooms on, by remote?...read more
14 Jun 12 8:39 AM
You may be right that the wheels will fall off, but I don't believe it will be the fault of the money system but more likely the European common currency idea or issues building up in relation to the ......read more