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 | ||
| UK Accredited Construction Details for Part L | UK Accredited Construction Details for Part L. | free |
| ORNL Builder Foundation Handbook | Energy efficient foundation details | free |
| BRANZ Level | The BRANZ Level website is one of the most extensive and useful resources for sustainable buildings in New Zealand. | free |
| 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. EECA also has an excellent detailed design guide ("Design for the Sun") with specific design calculations for NZ conditions. | free |
| Smarter Homes | This website published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) covers most aspects of sustainable building. It is primarily aimed at home owners. | free |
| HomeStyleGreen | HomeStyleGreen is a great website with background information and tips for green buildings, podcasts of interviews (including one with yours truely ;-), and even a free house plan review service by the site's author architect Matthew Cutler-Welsh. | free |
| Basement and Home Energy Efficiency Guide | This US guide demonstrates how you can run an energy efficiency inventory of your home and basement and make changes to lower your energy usage. | free |
| The Eco-Friendly Guide to Cleaning Your Home | A UK page looking at the impact of cleaning agents on your health and the environment. The resource has many tips on how to clean your home in an efficient, affordable, and eco-friendly manner. | free |
| Energy Efficient Lighting Guide | Tips on energy efficient lighting including "The Recycling & Disposal Of Old Light Bulbs", "The Various Types of Efficient Light Bulbs" and "The Future of Eco-Friendly Lighting". | free |
| The Renewable Energy site for Do-It-Yourselfers | An extensive US website with plans, tools and information to help build renewable energy and conservation projects from changing a light bulb to building a solar homes. Nothing For Sale here - just free ideas, plans, and information. To convert from imperial units you can use the DesNav Unit Converter | free |
| Central Heating Guide | A number of guides and online tools related to central heating design. To convert the imperial units you can use the DesNav Unit Converter | free |
| Heating Cost Calculator | A simple online tool to calculate running costs for a number of different heating sources. To convert the imperial units you can use the DesNav Unit Converter | free |
| R-value and Moisture Transfer Calculator | A tool that calculates U-Values for construction types but also vapour pressure differentials and where dew points will occur under different conditions. The site is German with a partially translated English page. Be aware that dynamic moisture and interstitial condensation calculations and in particular any associated risk to the building structure are quite complex. It is usually a good idea to consult an expert rather than solely relying on a calculation tool such as this. | free |
| The Complete Guide On How To Make Your Business Green | This UK guide provides an introduction to sustainable business practices including practical tips on what you can do to make your business more eco friendly. | 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" NZS4218:2009 "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 |
| 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 |
| New Zealand Associations | New Zealand associations with specialised information on various energy subjects:
NZ Wind Energy Association Solar Industries Association Bioenergy Association of New Zealand Sustainable Energy Forum The Eco-Village, and Cohousing Association of New Zealand | |
| Building Guide | The Building Guide website has a few tips on sustainable design. | free |
| International Energy Agency IEA | Links to technical documents by working groups on a series of technologies. | 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 |
| Rocky Mountain Institute | The Rocky Mountain Institute is the global avant-garde of energy technology and sustainable conceptual thinking. | 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 |
Build It Green The Green Builder 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.
