News & Articles

Is Passive House still relevant now that heat pumps are efficient and the grid is decarbonising? Nick Grant tackles this in a recent post, and while the energy arguments are...

Ventilate right: ignoring this endangers health

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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...

Climate data resource page

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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...

ByggaF standard addresses moisture risks in a systematic process

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2024

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...

Easier ways to gather data to predict mould growth

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Feb 2024

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...

Bader Ventura is a certified Passive House project

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Feb 2024

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...

Glazing percentage: handy rule of thumb to prevent overheating

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jul 2023

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...

Ngā Kāinga Anamata passes pre-construction review

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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...

Passivhaus In Australia book now available

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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...

Affordable housing that works

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2020

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...

Fixing problem buildings needs structural change

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

New Zealand window manufacturers took out two of the window awards at the PHI conference in China last year. Several years ago PH1NZ nearly won first place in the residential architecture...

NZ entries for the 2020 Passive House Award?

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

Why am I sounding overjoyed at this simple text from BRANZ? The backstory goes a long way back. In its <December 2019 Guideline https://www.branz.co.nz/guideline>, the front story is about...

About time: Damn right, mechanical ventilation is appropriate in all new buildings

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2019

Jason Quinn reported back from the 23rd International Passive House Conference: “Technical PH people used to talk about saving energy—but at the conference, I kept hearing about saving carbon. That’s...

2019 October 16: News just in from China

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2019

“A house with leaking and damaged gutters, rotting window frames, illegal stairs, a sagging and mouldy ceiling, rotting weatherboards, a rotten toilet floor and exposed electrical board have earned a...

29 August 2019 NZ Herald’s Anne Gibson: Why a Henderson mother won $13k from her landlords: 22 separate issues at rental property

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2019

And putting batts between light steel framing is not a good option as discussed below. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/building-code-update-consultation-november-2019 The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has found that thermal bridging in a wood-framed wall...

Oppose NASH as AS for E2 as it doesn’t cover external insulation

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2019

Congratulations to Joe Mercieca of Blue Eco Homes for Sapphire Passive House in the Blue Mountains and Andy Marlow of Envirotecture for the Thornleigh house. The article states that “The...

27 August 2019 The Fifth Estate’s Poppy Johnston: NSW gets its first Certified Passive House homes

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2019

Damp mouldy housing and early childhood hospital admissions for acute respiratory infection: a case control study Bottom line for the Wellington Region alone 1710 hospitalizations per year for children under...

19 August 2019 BMJ Journals: Damp mouldy housing and early childhood hospital admissions for acute respiratory infection: a case control study

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026