Formance reposted this
Podcast host. Educator. Communicator. MC. Engineer. Certified Passive House Consultant. Inspiring people to make a better place to live.
It’s a Matt in a hat! Actually, it’s a Matt in too many hats. The team at Formance handed me a beanie with the useful information that it had an R-value of 0.4. Interesting, “So how many would I need to make R6.6?”, I asked… So here I am, with a knitted vest, light wool-blend pants, and 17 hats. Ridiculous. This is a New Zealand house insulated using the Schedule Method. Also ridiculous. Don’t be a Matt in too many hats. Do energy modelling.
Loved that when Nick showed me the other day! The photo just needed to be outside (the weather was pretty typical for Wellington I recall) and in jandals 😏 Plus your vest is a good illustration of insulating 70% of the wall and ignoring air tightness!
Fantastic way to highlight the value of energy modeling. I do however have a different opinion on the R6.6 rule. I reckon R6.6 is actually not a bad balance in most cases. In Auckland, the level of overheating generally reduces with R6.6 compared to lower insulation level. It helps shield the heat from outside. (Say 50-60 degrees dark metal roof Vs 25 degrees room temperature) In Queenstown when the attic can be well below zero in winter, R6.6 is just about right. A human body typically has no more than 2m2 of surface area while an average size house could have 150m2 of roof area. The heat loss can't be underestimated. Yes, a better balance can often be achieved with energy modelling but the optimal level of roof insulation is never far below. Generally, R5.2 or above is still required.
Matthew 💯 agree with the energy modelling. It’s a no brainer. Just had a price to upgrade ceiling insulation to R7 in Auckland; $2,000 over 200m2. 0.2% of build cost. Couldn’t do it myself cheaper. Agree with Arthur, helps with overheating. Also a no brainer imo. As is only wearing one hat at a time 😁
We want to take this moment to credit the OG CAT IN THE HAT, pro clima’s own 🐐 Jon Davies, October 20, 2023.
It was such a great idea Matthew, really makes the case for thermal modelling over schedule method when it comes to H1. To be honest, when you asked, I wasn't sure 17 beanies would all go together, but it turns out they do 🤣
Love it, I should frame it for office 😊
Genius Matt, well played 😎
Ummm speechless.... for so many reasons. Matthew Cutler-Welsh
Superb explanation… modelling all the way. BUT you need to get the explanation out to the doers, the smaller developers… this is a great demonstration. Some free webinars with reach into the in-fill network please.