Thornleigh Passivhaus

September was wet, but not as cold. The split system was on (set to 23 °C during our typical winter solar generation period (10:00 am - 3:30pm), and off during the peak periods and overnight. The HRV transitioned from the 'heating' season to the inbetween seasons toward the end of the month. I started transitioning most of the indoor Wireless Tag sensors from the button battery variety to those that use a USB mains power adaptor, and the outdoor sensors to the proper outdoor sensors which should be more durable and less easily damaged by exposure to high mosture environments. Temperature from inside and outside the house as the percentage of hours in 0.5 °C bins. I've scaled the temperature in hope that I will be able to use the same axes for all months. Methods: I have taken the 5 minutely data from the wirelessTag sensors and calculated the median temperature for each hour and determined the proportion of hours falling inside of the 20 - 25 °C target temperature (...

August was cold (average of 13 °C, the coldest hour was 4 °C, and warmest hour was 24 °C). The split system was on (set to 23 °C during our typical winter solar generation period (10:00 am - 3:30pm), mostly on 20 °C overnight (9pm - 6am), and off during the peak periods) and the HRV was solidly in 'heating' season all month. We had a couple people isolating for a couple weeks, but otherwise life was normal. Over the last couple months I've had a few conversations with folks from Better Renting and subsequently I've been looking at the WHO Housing and health guidelines . I am not sure why Passive House decided on 20 - 25 °C as their temperature range. WHO has set 18 °C as the recommended lower threashold temperature in winter months. I'll confess that when my house is over 24 °C in the winter months it can feel really warm, whereas in the summer indoor temperatures up to 26 or even 27 °C can feel quite comfortable. Especially over night winter temperatures much o...

July was cold (average of 11 °C, the coldest hour was 1 °C, and warmest hour was 20 °C). The split system was on (set to 23 °C during our typical winter solar generation period (10:00 am - 3:30pm), 21 °C overnight (9pm - 6am), and off during the peak periods) and the HRV was solidly in 'heating' season all month. School holidays during the first two weeks of July and we (gasp) went on a trip away from home for most of the first week, but otherwise one parent was typically working from home. Temperature from inside and outside the house as the percentage of hours in 0.5 °C bins. I've scaled the temperature in hope that I will be able to use the same axes for all months. Methods: I have taken the 5 minutely data from the wirelessTag sensors and calculated the median temperature for each hour and determined the proportion of hours falling inside of the 20 - 25 °C target temperature (using the R functions 'aggregate' and 'hist'). Inside includes data fro...

June was cold (the coldest hour was 2 °C and warmest hour was 19.7 °C). The split system was on (set to 23 °C during our typical winter solar generation period (10:00 am - 3:30pm),  21 °C overnight (9pm - 6am), and off during the peak periods) and the HRV was solidly in 'heating' season all month. School is back so the kids were at school, but on most days one parent was working from home. We were open for the International Passive House Open Days (June 25) and we had ~ 100 people through the house. Lots of people were very interested in Passive Houses as comfortable / affordable dwellings. We will likely be hosting visitors in November (11-13) as well. Temperature from inside and outside the house as the percentage of hours in 0.5 °C bins. I've scaled the temperature in hope that I will be able to use the same axes for all months. Methods: I have taken the 5 minutely data from the wirelessTag sensors and calculated the median temperature for each hour and determined...

May (like the other months this year) has been cloudy with a fair bit of rain, although we generated about what we did last year (349kWh in 2022 vs 358kWh in 2021). The split system was sheduled to heat to ~ 22 °C during the day (~ 10:00 - 17:00) and the HRV was mainly in the 'heating' season. School is back so the kids were at school, but one parent was often working from home. While the outdoor temperature was mainly cool, we had a few really warm days which lead to a bit less time in range, but in was a comfortable month inside! Temperature from inside and outside the house as the percentage of hours in 0.5 °C bins. I've scaled the temperature in hope that I will be able to use the same axes for all months. Methods: I have taken the 5 minutely data from the wirelessTag sensors and calculated the median temperature for each hour and determined the proportion of hours falling inside of the 20 - 25 °C target temperature (using the R functions 'aggregate' and...

April has been cloudy with a fair bit of rain, so we haven't been generating much electricity. The split system was off and the HRV was solidly in between a 'cooling' or 'heating' season. School is back so the kids were at school (except for the two week Easter break), but at least one parent was working from home on most days. Temperature from inside and outside the house as the percentage of hours in 0.5 °C bins. I've scaled the temperature in hope that I will be able to use the same axes for all months. Methods: I have taken the 5 minutely data from the wirelessTag sensors and calculated the median temperature for each hour and determined the proportion of hours falling inside of the 20 - 25 °C target temperature (using the R functions 'aggregate' and 'hist'). Inside includes data from the wirelessTag sensors spread across nearly every room of the house. Outside is the data from the wirelessTag sensors outside near the cubby house and ...

More press... Thornleigh Passive House was pictured in the Climate Council's report " TENTS TO CASTLES:Building Energy Efficient, Cost-Saving Aussie Homes " (Figure 10). I was also interviewed for an ABC News article on the Climate Council's report and improving the quality of Australian buildings (2022.Apr.21). Another interview for an article in The Green List  (2022.May.16). Another interview for an article in the Daily Telegraph ( paywalled )....