A Smorgasbord of Energy Links A Smorgasbord of Energy LinksFortunately much of the information is free and on the www. Some documents will have to be ordered at a small cost.
| Other Links | ||
| Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) | The website has searchable databases of renewable energy contacts and of energy related businesses in New Zealand. The site also has specific guidelines on energy savings at home and in the office with links to energy related associations. It also has a series of 4-page brochures on a series of renewable technologies such as "stand-alone power systems", "passive solar design" and several others. EECA also has an excellent detailed design guide ("Design for the Sun") with specific design calculations for NZ conditions. | free |
| Ecobob | Ecobob is a web based system designed to make eco living easy. The website gives you an easy way of accessing a wealth of information on eco living in the form of eco articles, eco house profiles, forums, blogs, business listings and more. Ecobob is designed for people to share knowledge on eco friendly living methods, such as the use of sustainable energy sources, sustainable waste systems and sustainable water usage. | free |
| Department for Building and Housing | The Department for Building and Housing website has updates on the latest regulations. The 2005 revision of the Building Act requires specific consideration of sustainability aspects of buildings. | free |
| Waitakere City Council | Very useful non-technical information on a range of topics such as "energy efficient design principles", "construction waste", "building in the bush" and many others, mainly as pdf files, suitable for printing. | free |
| Local Eye | A list of environmental businesses in and around Christchurch. The list includes businesses that offer environmental services on recycling, engineering, design, etc. | free |
| Sustainable Households Programme | The Sustainable Households Programme has been developed during 2001-2004 by a partnership of local councils across New Zealand, with funding assistance from the Ministry for the Environment, Sustainable Management Fund. The organistion has a strong educational focus. The website has a list of useful links to other sites and pdf documents on various sustainability issues, such as energy efficiency, gardening and travel. | free |
| Sustainable Insight Resouce Centre | The website and monthly newsletter focus on promoting the development and implementation of sustainable technologies and practices in Australia and New Zealand. | free |
| Australian government website | Very comprehensive with information from budgeting for a good design and building orientation to very specific technology such as solar water heaters and insulation. Non-technical language, laid out in a very attractive and user-friendly format. Understandably a slant towards cooling aspects. | free |
| Standards New Zealand | These standards should be present in every good architectural studio: SNZ PAS4244:2004 "Insulation of Lightweight-Framed and Solid Timber Houses" NZS4218:1996 "Energy Efficiency - Housing and Small Building Envelope" NZS4243:1996 "Energy Efficiency- Large Buildings" NZS4214:1977 "Methods of Determining the Total Thermal Resistances of Parts of Buildings" However, keep in mind that these standards only specify only the legal limits and don't really represent good thermal design. | between $20 and $100 |
| BRANZ Eco Building Booklet | A free booklet to download from the BRANZ website for anyone wanting a general overview of important green building issues or detailed NZ-specific information on eco-products, services, and design. The booklet covers: efficient energy usage, efficient water usage, reducing construction waste, careful building selection, good landscaping. | free |
| BRANZ Green Home Scheme | The BRANZ website lists contact details of Green Home Approved designers and architects in various parts of the country. | free |
| BRANZ ALF Thermal Design Software | A shareware version of the ALF thermal design program can be downloaded free from the BRANZ website for testing. It helps to make basic design choices, is however not designed to cover advanced low energy buildings. | free to try $90 for full version |
| BRANZ House Insulation Guide | An extensive list of illustrated tables of R-values of various types of wall, floor and roof constructions. The book shows the effect of the framing and cladding on the insulation material R-value resulting in an R-value for the whole construction. | $39.95 |
| BRANZ bulletins | Rather technical in nature: 430(2002): Passive Ventilation, 429(2002): Calculating R-values for timber framed walls, 427(2002): Improving Thermal Insulation, 421(2001): Windows - Films and Coatings, 419(2001): Selecting Glass, 398(2000): Straw Bale Construction, 387(1999): Double Glazing, 357(1997): Thermal Insulation of Houses, 344(1996): Embedded Floor Heating, 340(1996): Conservatories, 446(2004): Sustainable Construction | $10 |
| Metro Glass | Table of technical specifications for a large number of glass types. | free |
| Sustainable by Design | Several easy-to-use online tools for window and shading calculations. Some require Macromedia Flashplayer to be installed. | free |
| NASA Global Weather Data | A NASA site that give’s meteorological data/solar radiance/degree days and a lot more for any latitude and longitude. | free |
| New Zealand Associations | New Zealand associations with specialised information on various energy subjects:
Solar Action (NZ chapter of the New Zealand and Australian Solar Energy Society ANZSAS) NZ Wind Energy Association Solar Industries Association Bioenergy Association of New Zealand Sustainable Energy Forum The Eco-Village, and Cohousing Association of New Zealand | |
| Yahoo Discussion Groups | Yahoo discussion groups on various aspects of energy design. A good way to get real life feedback from users of various technologies. Adobe Sustainable Community Home Energy | free |
| International Energy Agency IEA | Links to technical documents by working groups on a series of technologies. | free |
| American Institute of Architects | Sustainable Design Resource Guide. 16 chapter book providing guidance of sustainable building solutions. | free |
| Oakridge National Laboratory: Builder's Foundation Handbook | Technical 124 page pdf file with technical detailing of how to insulate floors. | free |
| US Federal Energy Management Program | Technical fact sheets on energy technologies such as photo voltaic, lighting etc. with numerous useful links to other websites. | free |
| Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program | Clearinghouse for anything from energy design software, case studies, F&Qs and articles on energy technologies. | free |
| Rocky Mountain Institute | The Rocky Mountain Institute is the global avant-garde of energy technology and sustainable conceptual thinking. | free |
| The El Paso Solar Energy Association | Practical hands-on advice on subjects such as Solar Home Design, Solar Hot Water, Solar Pool Heating, Adobe and Thermal Mass, Straw Bale and many others. (Keep in mind that in US units an insulation value of R5.7 is equivalent to a NZ insulation value of R1) | free |
| US Department of Energy | An exhaustive list of computer tools for building design, material selection, renewable energy and other energy related technologies. | various |
| Other useful links |
Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability, New South Wales Sustainability Victoria Build It Green The Green Builder Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Section of the US DOE Environment Canterbury Clean Air Programme Energy Technology Data Exchange Home Page | |
Each of these resources has generally links and references to further specific information. Last not least there are of course public and university libraries.
This list is based on an article in the BRANZ BUILD magazine from April/May 2003.
