The slow switch to ISO standards in NZBC
New Zealand is slowly switching over to using ISO standards, at least for our building energy work and code in H1. The revised H1 switches to the following standards, so...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Apr 2023
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Least cost, most benefit from jumping straight to Passive House performance
Something I learned from my dad growing up was to do something right … so you only had to do it once. When you do a half-arsed job, you often...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Apr 2023
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Passive House in NZ: certification and rate of uptake rising
Sustainable Engineering is often asked how many PHI certified Passive House buildings there are in New Zealand. So a while back, we added a counter to our website here. We...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Exceptional airtightness results achieved
We’re aware builders are competing to get the lowest air leakage results (well below the 0.6 ACHn50 Passive House requirement). It’s good fun: we have some great Passive House builders...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2023
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RIBA Passivhaus Overlay is essential reading
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has produced an extremely well done resource that will be very helpful for New Zealand Passive House designers and architects too. The Passivhaus...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2023
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Owners loving Bushland Park’s first Passive House homes
Bushland Park set out to be New Zealand’s first Passive House subdivision and builders Ethos Homes boldly built the first two homes on spec. The build went smoothly but the...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Feb 2023
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Is natural plaster airtight?
UPDATE Aug 2023 This project’s final blower door test showed a significant improvement in airtightness, which qualifies the initial commentary made below at the time of the preliminary test. The...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Aug 2023
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Momentum gathering on multi-occupancy Passive House projects
Architype in Dunedin has notched up another Passive House win, with successful certification of the country’s first social housing units. Our case study notes the challenges that were met with...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Feb 2023
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New concrete code of practice published
Concrete New Zealand has published a new document, CP01:2022 – Code of Practice for Weathertightness. It’s available to download from the Technical Documents section. Note that this 2022 update is...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Aus leads way on educational Passive House buildings
A private childcare centre operator in Canberra, Australia had the foresight more than five years ago to build facilities to Passive House standards. Her aim was to build the healthiest...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Feb 2023
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Just a matter of time
I’ve always said: once you’ve lived in a certified Passive House home, you wouldn’t settle for anything less. I’d better change that to ‘once you’ve lived or worked…’ because these...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jan 2023
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Benefits of high-performance housing spread wide
Retrofitting buildings to the EnerPHit standard and designing new ones to certified Passive House levels of performance lowers cost to society and produces lots of co-benefits (ie shared by society...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jan 2023
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Funding and quality assurance the way to ensure successful energy retrofits
Successful energy retrofits are complex. This should be no surprise: building are complex and fixing one already built is harder than building it properly in the first place. It is...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jan 2023
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Safety tips and rescue remedies for Passive House design
Allow for mistakes and changes in the course of the design (and build) process. That, in a nutshell, is possibly the best piece of advice we can offer to Passive...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jan 2023
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The Fave Four according to Stuff
Stuff’s focus on certified Passive House homes continues with a great round up by journalist Colleen Hawkes. She profiles her personal four favourite Passive House projects from 2022. Two are...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jan 2023
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Healthy Homes Standards: the amendment explained
I’ve been asked several times for information on the New Zealand Healthy Homes Standards and how it impacts high-performance buildings. Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga – Ministry of Housing and Urban...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jan 2023
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Passive House award winners featured in online flipbook
Check this out: a lovely flipbook with in-depth case studies of the projects from the Passive House Architectural awards in 2021. Lavishly illustrated, illuminating text and lots of drawings: this...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jan 2023
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Hempcrete thermal modelling info
A residential project involving hemp as a building material is targeting Passive House certification in New Zealand. Hemp is a new material for the Sustainable Engineering team and it’s interesting...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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