> Joe,
>
> I'm assuming you're talking about the building at the corner of Charles=20
> St.
> and Akepiro St. on the West side of the latter?  It seems to have 4 long,
> narrow rooflights, but it doesn't look like 1,000m^2, but looks could be
> deceptive

Hey Howard, long time no read

I tend to agree. I was told 1000 but on closer inspection of that photo it
seems more like 500. You'll notice that it's surrounded by concrete and
tarmac, for better or worse

> Well Job 1 is to get that roof insulated!  Solar energy can contribute up
> to 1kW per square metre on a good day, but even allowing for the angle,
> reflection and other losses you may find that tin roof is being hit with=
=20
> up
> to half a megawatt.  It makes no sense to let that heat in and then pay
> good money to get it out again

My offer so far has been to make at least one of those rooflights openable,
which would solve the short-term problem of them baking in summer. Which
it is now and they are. She's put up some lightweight material to keep the=
=20
sun
off the floor and that's helping. But of course when it rains heavily, oh=20
the
noise !! Only some decent continuous insulation/padding is going to block
that. Plus Auckland gets very humid in the summer so even on cloudy days
it can be quite uncomfortably warm and muggy, like it is today. Ugh

> If he doesn't need 5m of height, a false ceiling will help too, as it wil=
l
> tend to keep the warm air above it in Summer and below it in Winter.
> Otherwise trying to heat the air in Winter will result in a nice warm=20
> ceiling
> and cold people!

The previous premises (348 New North Road, very close, NW) was on
the lower floor, partly built into the hill, false ceiling, room divider,=20
very
stable temperature. Good set-up. And that really was more like 1000sqm.
The people on the second floor offered her landlord more for the lease and
he accepted, although annoyingly she finds they may not use it themselves
after all, and will probably sub-lease. She's realised that moving in to=20
this
place was a mistake but took it to stay in the area. If you were wondering

> Trying to solve it with AirCon alone is not on unless you have a free
> electricity supply...

At one of her previous buildings someone had either run a wire through
the wall to next door's fuse box or it was an oversight when the building
was divided. I went in to remove some strip lighting and made sure the
fuses were pulled. But one particular light's cable was still live and=20
cutting
it ruined my expensive new snips. Grrrr

> speaking of which, why not put solar panels on the roof?  Removes
> (some of) the heating of the roof in Summer, and provides electricity to
> help power the AirCon - Win/Win!  :-)

Good idea but she'd probably baulk at the expense

> Oh, and that roller-shutter is likely to be drafty in Winter, even when
> it's closed, so building something inside (an enclosed loading bay or
> something) to keep that cold air from the body of the bulding would
> be a Good Thing

I think I need to have a chat with her. Mittens and bikinis ?

Thanks

Joe=20

--=20
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