The Brass Monkey Challenge is something that Kim and I came up with this winter to see if we could avoid using the natural gas heating in our home for the entire winter.
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Join Kim and me as we talk extensively about what this challenge has thrown at us over the last three months.
So far we have achieved our goal, and have come up with inventive ways of staying warm without heating.
We also talk about the recent Thermal assessment we received from ecoMaster, and what additional work we are going to get done to our home to make it more comfortable in summer and winter.
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Fantastic podcast. You certainly seem to have successfully fulfilled your brass monkey challenge. Just a quick query. You mentioned that aluminium lets heat out and that plantation shutters are fantastic insulators. The trend in many display homes in Sydney at the moment is to have aluminium plantation shutters on display. They look great and seem to work well. What are your thoughts on them? Are they really such a good idea?
Aluminium conducts heat about 10 times better than steel. Of the common materials in our homes only copper is a better conductor of heat. That means that it is not a good material for insulating windows. Timber plantation shutters would be much better.
Hi Sandra. Apologise for the delay, but Maurice has pretty much summed it up.
We have timber plantation shutters which are much better insulators than aluminium. The shutter also stops the chimney effect between the glass and a normal curtain without a pelumt. Our shutters are within the window frame itself, so there is no airflow.
Hope that helps.
Great podcast. It was lovely to hear Kim chat with you in her West Country accent. It made me smile but feel a little homesick! I’m from Cornwall.
If only all homes were built with insulation and energy efficiency in mind in the first place. We have double glazing in most windows now and it has made a huge difference to temperatures in winter and summer.
Hi Deb. Kim is originally from Southampton, but lived north of London as a kid which explains her non specific English accent. Lots of her UK friends thinks she talks like an Aussie!
BTW, I love hosting episodes with her. It just has a natural feel to it.