Climate data resource page

For Passive House calculations members of iPHA can use their tool to generate files for PHPP An indicative climate file can be generated here with this tool. Remember that the file is defined for the northern hemisphere and must be altered using the Climate data tool for the Southern Hemisphere. https://www.building.govt.nz/getting-started/climate-change-work-programme/resources/weather-files-aotearoa-new-zealand The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has released updated weather …

ByggaF standard addresses moisture risks in a systematic process

I field questions often that go something like, what is the best way to build a CLT roof or an ICF window install or handle a three-way junction between heavy cladding, slab edge insulation and a thermally broken aluminium sliding door. My answer to all these questions is very often the same: It depends. I say this knowing it’s not …

Easier ways to gather data to predict mould growth

Modelling mould growth in domestic environments using relative humidity and temperature is a useful technical paper, as it seeks to modify the VTT model of mould growth on surfaces to make it easier to use in built homes. The research also suggested the existing VTT model underestimates the risk of mould in domestic settings.  The authors surveyed a large number …

Bader Ventura is a certified Passive House project

Oddly, this write-up about Kainga Ora’s Bader Ventura project doesn’t make it explicit that the building did achieve Passive House certification. You can read a detailed case study by Sustainable Engineering here—our team certified this project and provided lots of technical support. The result is all the more impressive because Passive House performance wasn’t a focus from the very beginning …

Glazing percentage: handy rule of thumb to prevent overheating

Prevent overheating by keeping the window area to 20% of the floor area. That’s a very old passive solar rule-of-thumb from New England (Eastern USA) where I grew up.  So I was interested to discover that Mark Siddall has researched this same metric for homes in the UK and found it holds true there. He details this in a brief …

Ngā Kāinga Anamata passes pre-construction review

Update 16May2024 We want folks to know that Kainga Ora has regretfully informed us that they are now in the process of officially closing the R&D component of the project as the investment is no longer commercially viable. They are removing their pages from their website and links to this will no longer work. Kāinga Ora’s ambitious research project, Ngā …

Passivhaus In Australia book now available

If you haven’t yet downloaded and read the excellent book produced by APHA, Passivhaus in Australia, I highly recommend it. Although New Zealand had a head start over Australia on Passive House design and construction, the Aussies have now clearly surged to the lead with their large complex projects. School classrooms, student accommodation and a high-end apartment building have all …

Affordable housing that works

Todd Rothstein’s recent Global Passive House Happy Hour presentation* focused on the economics of Passive House construction rather than the more usual technical details. Todd’s goal is to build affordable housing for folks living in Maine in the United States. (Maine is the north-east corner of the United States, enjoying temperatures of -25C in the winter and 35C in the …

Fixing problem buildings needs structural change

Like always, Otago University’s Public Health Summer School this month was galvanising. Creating better housing in order to produce a triple benefit—improved energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and better health—was the theme this year. The questions are huge, the stakes are critically high and the solutions are various but all complex. I also watched a government official get blindsided by …