Retrofits for energy efficiency must accelerate to meet zero carbon deadline

Imagine: being able to model an entire city’s energy use—or the whole country!—just like you can a single building in PHPP. This is what districtPH does. Bland name for an...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2022

  • General Notes
    /
  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Sea level rise mapping

When we design and construct buildings to perform better—that is, to use much less energy—they become better quality and more durable. If you are building for the long term, think...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Energy-efficient homes sell for more in Aus

“Australia’s energy-efficient houses are commanding premium prices, with buyers spending 17 per cent more to get into a sustainable home.” That’s the Sydney Morning Herald leading its article with a...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Top 10 Climate Risks

New Zealand’s first national adaptation plan is out for discussion. I have to say it reads like a plan to have a plan. Now the real work begins: what we...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

A compelling case for component-based housing solutions

Adam Cohen has a bold and creative vision: carbon-negative, decentralised building systems that will take Passive House performance to provincial New Zealand. He outlines it eloquently in this opinion piece...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Fletcher Living’s Low Carbon homes featured

Fletcher Living’s Low Carbon House featured in an excellent article by Nikki Mandow on Newsroom last month. Sustainable Engineering’s been involved from the beginning and it’s been awesome to bring...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Heavy health cost of NZ’s love affair with cars

It’s not just the climate that pays when fossil fuel is burned to transport people and goods. An update to the HAPINZ study on air pollution has, for the first...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jul 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Insulation is not magic

The results of a survey on the state of New Zealand housing are getting plenty of media coverage at the moment, given the grim findings about the scale of the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Bundle heating costs with rent?

Fuel poverty is no joke. Society is only as strong as its most vulnerable members. If the cost of keeping everyone’s house warm—not an allowance measured in dollars but by...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jul 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Fletcher Living gets serious about low carbon homes

Great to see Fletcher Living’s announcement about its Low Carbon initiative. The Sustainable Engineering team has really enjoyed working with Fletcher Living’s people on their vision for low carbon homes...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jul 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Historical insulation levels in NZ

Against the backdrop of all the recent noise about increasing Building Code minimum R-values, let’s look back at how the minimum standard (or typical values) have changed over time. This...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • General Notes
    /
  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Optimal indoor CO2 levels: is 1000ppm too high?

We need to talk about ventilation. Urgently. Specifically, policy-makers and industry need to arrive at an agreed definition of sufficiently ventilated when it comes to the indoor spaces where New...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jul 2022

  • General Notes
    /
  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Live counter of NZ’s Passive House projects

We’re very frequently asked, ‘How many Passive Houses are there in New Zealand?’ Well, as of 1625 hours, 11 July 2022, there are: That number is changing rather quickly now...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Sweden is on track

Did you know there is a country that has adopted Passive House performance levels in timber framed buildings, sorted the MVHR issues and has quite innovative framing practices we should...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Local design and manufacture focused on zero energy building

FMI is a family-owned designer and manufacturer of building components including joinery, glass, facades and cladding, marketed under brands like Eurowood, Nextra, Vetro Raccordi and Fairview. The Sustainable Engineering team...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Better health is first result of H1 improvements

I appreciate the work Germán Molina is doing to get his PhD findings out into the world. I’ve linked to work he’s publishing on his blog, Buildings for People, before....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

LEB projects in Christchurch, explained

It’s one thing to build bespoke higher-performing homes under contract for a client. It is quite another measure of risk to build spec homes that out-perform the Building Code minimums....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

A LEB is not a PH

It’s not correct to say a Low Energy Building (LEB) is a Passive House. Yes, it is a PHI standard. But to claim it is a Passive House, as a...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2022

  • General Notes
    /
Read More