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"The key to detailing insulation is to ensure that the contractor can easily maintain high standards and cold-bridging is eliminated. Thick, solid walls and floors are the best places to provide thermal mass, although there have been sophisticated solutions devised using water barrels and ponds. The use of engineered timbers, with a thin web allows the insulation to fill up to 20% more of a wall or roof than the equivalent construction in solid timber. There are now a number of excellent boards and membranes which can significantly improve this situation, however careful detailing and workmanship is required as every hole or puncture must be sealed before the building is plastered. There are a number of techniques to create a balanced heat input ranging from simple planting that sheds its leaves in winter, to a custom made brise-soleil, which can be computer designed to very precicely control the solar gain. By contrast a modern low energy house, with solar heating and active heat recovery. The right form of insulation must be selected for the job. Choices include sheeps wool, hemp and cotton fibres, straw, and many modern products. Each have different strengths and weaknesses. Thermal mass is used to store heat from one heating cycle to the next. It must be contained within the insulated envelope of the building. used correctly it will keep the building cooler in summer and warmer in winter evening out the fluctuations. There are many places that heat can leak through the fabric of a building - steel lintels which span the cavity are obvious examples, timber studs can also however contribute a significant amount unless cross battened. In a well-insulated building up to 50% of the heat can be lost through drafts and other air leakange. It is important that a building can breathe without leaking air. Used in the right way, the sun is the one free source of energy that can be used to replenish the heat losses from a building. It can also overheat a space in summer and make it quite uncomfortable"
