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Keith Huntington
Keith Huntington
on Maximising Thermal Efficiency
Architectural Consultant

Keith Huntington of EcoRate Ltd is a registered architect involved in passive solar design and the objective analysis of buildings using thermal simulation modelling.

27 November 2023

Why is it Being Reported that New Terrace Housing is Overheating in Summer?

When it is being reported that Terrace Housing has overheating problems, is it just the direct experience of individuals in particular buildings who don’t recall all the Terraces which are not a problem, or is there a trend with current materials and regulations which are not as appropriate as they could be?

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24 July 2023

Should all New Houses be Modelled for Thermal Performance? – Part 2

For housing design and construction is there such a strong link between passive thermal performance, (before heating & cooling appliances are activated), and the embodied carbon content of the dwelling so that these two important design objectives must be locked together in a single analysis?

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26 June 2023

Should All New Houses be Modelled for Thermal Performance?

Are we moving in a direction where continuing and narrowing analysis of evermore finer detail of particular aspects of building elements is assumed to automatically leads to better results?

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27 March 2023

Flotation Perils for Concrete Floor Houses

While concrete floors on grade are a common choice for new homes, there are negative characteristics which only become evident in extraordinary circumstances, at which times the outcomes are usually disastrous.

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27 February 2023

Dealing with Climate Change Rain

I have full sympathy for the households and businesses affected by the recent floods in the upper and eastern North Island. I wish them well for the difficult and long task of recovery which must not be left to them alone. It is up to, and has been so for many decades, the Politicians and Built Environment Professionals to take our heads out of the sand and diligently look to a different long-term.

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21 November 2022

Do Politicians and Advisors Know What They are Trying to Achieve?

This month, November 2022, COP27 is being held in Egypt and yet again countries are admitting that their targets have not been met. Presumably this is because it is more important for the politician, and their advisors, to secure current short-term positions rather than look out beyond to consider the inevitable lesser world this inaction will bring. This narrow-view approach often results in unintended consequences which can negate the initial intention.

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27 September 2022

Climate Change is for Real

Decades ago I became convinced of the certainty of Global Warming, and the dangers it poses for the future if action was not taken. Recently I spend six weeks in France coming face to face with the reality of that future if all societies do not begin to work together immediately.

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27 June 2022

NZ Building Code: Clause H1 (Energy Efficiency) 5th Edition

At present MBIE is considering extending the transition period for the implementation of the insulation requirements of the 5th Edition of NZBC clause H1 (Energy Efficiency) so as to allow industry more time to ready the supply chain. Perhaps this time could also be productively used to re-visit the Acceptable Solution minimum construction R-values requirements for the perimeter of roofs to consider if they make sense when the principles of heat transfer are applied.

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20 April 2022

Will New Zealand’s Energy Supplies Need to Go Nuclear?

Aside from the, (continually and largely ignored), urgent warnings from climate scientists, the current rapid and dramatic changing political upheaval in Europe has caused society to finally face the reality of, and need for, swift and fundamental changes to the usage, sources and security of its existing energy supplies.

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21 February 2022

Are New Zealanders to Become Electricity Paupers?

Over the past few months there have been reports of multinationals and others coming to New Zealand to set themselves up to make use of our precious supply of green electricity. Are we asleep at the wheel?

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