BIM models are accurate enough

Engineers use lots of computer modelling tools. It’s our professional responsibility to understand those tools well enough to understand their limitations and determine when they are sufficiently accurate. This accuracy...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Thermal bypassing publication a must-read

If you design building assemblies you need to make the time to read this new publication. Thermal bypass—the air movement through and around insulation—has a very big impact on building...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2022

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Energy modelling at heart of Passive House

Often when people talk about Passive House, they’ll focus on those things they can see and touch, like triple-pane windows or mechanical ventilation. But the core of the Passive House...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2022

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Leaky building crisis spreads to Australia

Here’s a detailed but accessible write up about leaky homes that takes an international perspective. Written by Australian lawyers who specialise in construction law, it considers the risks emerging for...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2022

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PHPP accuracy proven by comparison to other tools

PHPP matches quite well for monthly heating and cooling energy demand when compared to lots of dynamic energy modelling software tools. And it should, as the equations/methods in PHPP have...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Calculating building system shutdowns in PHPP

It’s common for some non-residential buildings to be unoccupied for periods of time, during which the ventilation and conditioning is turned off. Schools and office buildings are common examples; think...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2022

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World’s biggest Passive House office rises in Boston

Sometimes I take a look to see what’s going on in Massachusetts, just for old times sake. And look at this: the Winthrop Center is a Boston high-rise that will...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Remove regulators’ liability and we might see more innovation in the building sector

Writing for The Spinoff recently, NZGBC head Andrew Eagles takes to task the Commerce Commission’s findings into competition in the residential building supplies market. “Not only does our industry suffer...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2022

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Make comfort a goal of any renovation

“Yeah, our old housing stock is terrible, but modern homes are all good.” It’s disheartening how often I hear this, about newly built homes constructed to only just meet the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2022

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(Thermally) break that steel

Graeme Jacobs is the Director at Jacobs & Munro Architects Limited and he recently posted about an elegant solution his firm sourced in order to create a thermal break in...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2022

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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