We’ll be at the conference in Sydney and teaching a workshop beforehand as well. Read more on this link.
2019 September 16 Otago Daily Times: Made of Straw
Great to see the progress Jessica and Ben are making on their Passive House. Once you have lowered the energy consumption of a home down to Passive House standard the embodied CO2 in the building becomes a reasonable fraction (1/4th is a good estimate) and straw bale and lime/clay plaster is one way to significantly reduce this. Can’t wait to …
2019 September 13 Exeter City Council: “Incredibly impressed” by Exeter’s energy efficient homes
“Gareth Hughes, MP, self-funded a fact-finding trip to Exeter to find out about the city’s Passivhaus programme. He was keen to see how it could be replicated back home.” “To date, the City Council has built 67 Passivhaus properties, with more energy-efficient properties in the pipeline. Even the eagerly-awaited St Sidwell’s Point Leisure Centre will be built to Passivhaus standards, …
2019 September 11 HVAC&R News: Concerns over cold-housing deaths
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 …
2019 September 9 Building Green: People Want a Greener Future but Don’t Know How to Get There
“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 …
2019 August 20 – Passive House Institute: More Passive Houses in Paradise
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 …
2019 June 19 New Energy Economy: World’s First Certified Passive House Car Dealership
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 …
21 March 2019 Scoop: Coastal Home for Sale Provides the Best in Energy Efficiency
“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 …
27 February 2019 Scoop: New healthy homes standards are just the beginning
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 …