Andy Marlow from Envirotecture explains why Passivhaus homes are a good fit for most climates in Australia, how they approach these projects and what is needed beyond shading to keep the homes comfortable when the outdoor temperatures soar.

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Sarah Lewis, the Research and Policy Director at the UK Passivhaus Trust and author of PHPP Illustrated, explains what the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) is and how it is used during the design process.

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Janice Gardiner, an ecologist and the client of last week’s interviewee Josh Wood at Green Trace Architect, is here to tell us what it is like to be the client on a Passivhaus project and share what she has learnt from the experience.

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Architect Josh Wood gives us an insight into his own self build project, where the balance between keeping costs low and creating a sustainable home have pushed him to come up with creative solutions. By undergoing most of the work themselves, Josh and his partner Amy have been able to transform their snug, back garden plot, into a comfortable and energy-efficient home. Josh explains how thinking outside of the box may be an excellent option if you are looking to get on to the property ladder with a smaller budget.

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Architect Kirsty Maguire explains why reusing an existing building is always preferable to demolishing and rebuilding. However, when buildings are in terrible condition or need radical alterations to make them habitable we should be looking to reuse, recycle and reclaim as many materials as possible. Kirsty shows us that with intentional and sustainable design, you can create a new structure with a wealth of history.

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Jae Cotterell, founder of Passivhaus Homes, explains the importance of the choices we make when considering our construction approach. It is possible to create a high performance home with low embodied carbon that doesn't cost the earth if we understand the process, where the impacts lie and where optimisation can make a huge difference.

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Andrew Jones explains how to reclaim VAT on a self build home or conversion as well as sharing some common pitfalls to avoid.

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Mark Brinkley, author of the Housebuilder's Bible, explains how his book can guide you towards building a better home. He also shares some of the themes that have cropped up while he's been editing the latest edition.

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Luke Smith from Build Test Solutions talks about making building performance measurement more commonplace, and how you can't manage what you don't measure.

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Dr. Derek Taylor talks about advances in wind and solar power over the last 50 years.

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