44 Ways #16: Use Other Options to Model Your Design Before You Build

Hello! This is Episode 416. This is Way #16 of the ‘44 Ways to Create Your Sustainable Home’ series, and we’re continuing through Section Four: Modelling and Measuring Your Sustainability.

Way #16 is: Use Other Options to Model Your Design Before You Build.

In the last episode, I talked about NatHERS energy modelling and why it can be so valuable as a design tool rather than simply using it as a late-stage compliance exercise.

In this episode, I want to explore that further, because the required modelling tool for your region may not be all that’s available to you. And for projects where you’re aiming for high performance, it may also not always be the most comprehensive one.

[For all resources mentioned in this podcast and a free, downloadable PDF transcript, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/416]

Think of this as a set of tools that help you understand how your home will perform before you build it, so you can make better decisions with your money while change is still cheap. That’s it. Some tools are required legally, such as NatHERS in Australia. Others are optional, available as another measure, data source or audit process.

I also want to address something that comes up a lot in the Undercover Architect community: the idea that NatHERS and Passive House are in competition, and that you have to be in one camp or the other. It really doesn’t need to be that way. Think of it as a spectrum.

And so, in this episode, I take you through Passive House modelling and what you can learn from it even if you’re not pursuing Passive House certification, how this modelling approach might give you a more complete picture of your home’s performance, and how to think about the Passive House principles themselves as a design framework, separate from the question of certification.

I also share some other valuable modelling tools that may assist you in your project, whether you’re renovating or building new.

As always, if you'd like to access a full transcript of this episode and links to any resources I mention, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com/416.

Now, let's dive in!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST: