Cold houses kill people. “Better Renting has released a report that estimates low-quality housing causes approximately 140 cold-related deaths per year in the ACT. The report is titled Unsafe as Houses: Cold-housing deaths in the ACT, and compares temperature data with statistics on monthly deaths from 2009–17.” According to RMIT University’s Dr Nicola Willand, over a quarter of a million older …
“Perhaps most disappointing for building professionals were responses about the impact of green building on the environment, people, and communities. “Only 11% of respondents associate words like ‘green building’ and ‘green space’ with creating an environment in which people live longer and healthier lives. This is far below other phrases, which people do associate with the environment—like recycling (45%), water …
I was looking for several examples of apartment buildings on the PHI website when I came across this colorful interview of New Zealand’s Passive House champion Thomas van Raamsdonk. When Thomas was asked ” What is the current situation? “ His reply was: “To date, there are over 20 certified Passive House buildings in New Zealand. Many more projects are underway or …
This building is pretty incredible. Most Passive House buildings can change the form (the external shape) and use less glass to meet the performance standard, but that wasn’t an option for this building: it has to look a certain way to meet the car franchise requirements. It’s also built in a cold climate, with winters dropping down to -11C. The …
“A Beachlands house, the first Passive House Plus in New Zealand to be awarded a 10 Homestar built rating, has been put on the market for sale.Built in 2014, the four-bedroom/three living room modern house at 23 Reliance Crescent was designed to be one of the most energy-efficient in New Zealand.The two-storey, 270 square metre home on a level 860 …
We have a lot of homes to fix in NZ and Sustainability Trust is estimating that “100,000 rentals will be exempt from installing insulation due to the cost of accessing the ceiling or underfloor.” I’m not sure they see the health care costs impacts of cold homes. It will pay for a lot of insulation. We look forward to working …
Beautiful English Passive House social housing apartments for the elderly: “18 apartments split into three blocks totalling 1057 sqm treated floor area. The larger block is comprised of 14 one-bedroom apartments at 55 sqm each, while the two identical smaller buildings each contain two two-bed apartments at 68 sqm each.” Unlike most project descriptions, this article has a refreshingly frank …
This is one way to save a considerable fraction of build costs if it is done at scale. Of course, I’d argue for putting those savings into a better building envelope designed/built to Certified Passive House levels. Content by Prefab NZ.
