Air quality is a measure of how clean or polluted the air is.

Monitoring air quality is important

because polluted air can be bad for our health—and the health of the environment. Air quality is
measured with the Air Quality Index, or AQI.

Buffer zone Identified areas outside the boundaries of and immediately adjacent to
designated protected areas that need special development control in order to avoid or
minimize harm to the protected area.

Heat gain is the term given to a temperature rise within a space due to heat from the sun (solar
radiation), heat from surfaces (long wave infrared radiation), heat originating from other sources within the
space (such as heating appliances, ovens, people, mechanical systems, lights and computers) and so on.
It is the heat that is gained from such sources that changes the prevailing temperature within the space.

Heat gain can be positive, for example providing 'free' heating to spaces on sunny but cold days, or it can
be negative, overheating spaces in the summer so that they are uncomfortable to occupy.

Insulation in your home provides resistance to heat flow and lowers your heating and cooling costs.
Properly insulating your home not only reduces heating and cooling costs, but also improves comfort.

, insulation is any material used to fill the spaces (including little gaps, crevices and hard-to-reach
places behind walls, above ceilings, etc.) of your home to reduce heat flow by reflection and/or
absorption.

Microclimate

Passive design’ is design that takes advantage of the climate to maintain a comfortable
temperature range in the home. Passive design reduces or eliminates the need for
auxiliary heating or cooling,

Passive ventilation uses doors, windows, vents, louvres and other openings to bring
fresh air into your home and let stale air out. The size and placement of these openings
can be used to guide air into and through your home

Renewable energy is energy from sources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited; renewable
resources are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that is available
per unit of time.
Stormwater is the water draining off a site from the rain that falls on the roof and land,
and everything it carries with it. The soil, organic matter, litter, fertilisers from gardens
and oil residues from driveways it carries can pollute downstream waterways..

Sustainable timber refers to timber that has been harvested responsibly. This
necessitates that when one tree is cut down to be used, another is planted to replace it.
However, ‘Sustainable Forestry’ means more than just replacing trees as they are
harvested – it also involves ensuring that there is no ecological damage to the
surrounding environment or its native flora and fauna.

hermal mass' describes a material's capacity to absorb, store and release heat. For example water
and concrete have a high capacity to store heat and are referred to as 'high thermal mass' materials.
Insulation foam, by contrast, has very little heat storage capacity and is referred to as having 'low
thermal mass'.

Is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built
environment.

The urban heat island effect describes the phenomenon where temperatures in cities and areas
covered by impervious surfaces are consistently higher
e heat island effect describes how urban areas that have large numbers of buildings and roadways
have higher temperatures than surrounding rural and suburban areas. The concrete and other
materials used to build the roads and buildings retain more heat than grasses and trees, which
causes the higher temperatures. The buildings absorb heat during the day, and these “heat islands”
like Atlanta (and NYC) show the highest temperatures during evenings and when there is little wind
(up to 4º Celsius or 7º Fahrenheit warmer). These areas have longer growing seasons for plants,
but the higher temperatures can affect weather patterns and human health. It is much hotter in
these areas, which also increases the amount of energy used to cool these structures during
summer months.

Volatile organic compounds are compounds that have a high vapor pressure and low
water solubility. Many VOCs are human-made chemicals that are used and produced
in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals, and refrigerants