Lee home in Cockle Bay is outstanding but it’s not a certified Passive House yet

The Lee family home in Auckland—all 660m2 of it—is indeed newsworthy but it is unfortunate that Stuff has twice jumped the gun (here and here) by describing it as a...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Feb 2024

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Morning Report: why are NZ homes so damn hot right now?

Morning Report rang me this week for comment about overheating homes, in the face of record temperature spikes. You can listen to the short segment here, or there’s a print...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jan 2024

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

New free tool for exploring climate files

I’ve discovered a climate file exploration tool that will be really useful for Passive House designers. Best, it’s open source, so free to use. This is particularly timely given the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jan 2024

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Replacement cycles should inform climate change mitigation policy

It’s curious there is so much public discussion about electric vehicles and why and how we should ‘flip the fleet’ … and so little about buildings. Yes, we need to...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jan 2024

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Choose the right heat pump

Source: Coming in from the cold: Heat pump efficiency at low temperatures, Duncan Gibb et al. 2023 This graph from a recent European academic paper shows air-source heat pump performance...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Passivhaus Playbook a great free resource

The latest book from APHA is the Passivhaus Playbook and it’s great. I love the focus on the team and a successful process. The publishers describe it as “a nine-step...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Deep retrofits of commercial buildings make good sense

  The deep retrofit at 80 Willis Street, Wellington is featured in a just-released NZ Green Building Council publication, A practical guide to upfront carbon reductions. This is a project...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2023

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

In the race to net zero, operational carbon remains crucial

Lloyd Alter is a Canadian adjunct professor and writer on sustainability topics. Like a growing number of commentators, Lloyd is brushing off the impact of operational carbon and arguing for...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2023

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Stepwise energy improvements waste time and money

Neil Savery had a 20 year career with the Australian Building Codes Board, nine years as its CEO. Let’s say that gives him some perspective, and industry experience worth listening...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2023

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

We need accurate planning tools

The UK’s first net zero energy bills have been introduced by several English councils as part of their response to the climate emergency. That’s good. These requirements need to be...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2023

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Air pollution kills New Zealanders

Air pollution is real and has deadly impacts. In New Zealand we’re 10 times more likely to die from the effects of air pollution than from a car accident. Marc...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2023

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Makeup air in a Passive House

Here’s a good summary on make up air for rangehoods, from HVAC consultants and designers at Energy Vanguard. It’s worth reading in full. The quick summary goes like this: Good...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2023

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Certifier scope of service guidance a helpful read

The Passivhaus Trust, the UK’s industry body, has published an excellent guide to where the roles and responsibilities sit during Passive House design, construction and certification stages. It’s worth reading....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2023

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Successfully marketing Passive House performance

We hear that stories on homes built to Passive House standard are very popular with Stuff readers. Here’s another well-written story about this family home in west Auckland, just completed...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2023

  • General Notes
    /
Read More

Passive House design training relaunches, on-demand format

New Zealand needs more Passive Houses—and other buildings heading in that high-performance direction. That requires more confident and skilled Passive House designers. Sustainable Engineering last year launched a new training...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2023

  • General Notes
    /
  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

Detailed LCA resource available

The Buildings and Communities Programme (EBC*) has just published a huge resource of LCA work focused on buildings in Europe.  The focus of the research are heavyweight buildings powered by...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2023

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

MVHR inlet/extract positions

There’s some new advice available about locating the air inlets and exhausts in MVHR systems. If you’re a Passive House designer or otherwise involved in high-performance building, it’s important to...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2023

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More

TFA or CFA? The difference matters

Anyone who notices there are fewer biscuits in a packet that is outwardly the same size has encountered shrinkflation. Same price, but nine chocolate biccies instead of 11 means 18%...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2023

  • Technical Notes
    /
Read More