Energy modelling New Zealand homes at design stage is easier and more widely available, thanks to a project by Sustainable Engineering for the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC). ECCHO has been accredited under ASHRAE 140, a confirmation that ECCHO’s calculations are correct. This work was carried out by SEL principal, Jason Quinn. ECCHO had to be validated in order …
“The most sustainable house is the one you don’t build”
New Zealanders have a vast job ahead retrofitting existing housing stock. Massively improving the thermal performance and energy efficiency of existing residential buildings is not optional if we are to meet our carbon emissions reduction commitments. Work in progress by architect and Passive House designer Murray Robertson is highlighting the feasibility of deep retrofits to particular types of New Zealand …
How Luggate Memorial Centre got made
New Zealand’s first Passive House community facility—and it stands in a tiny rural community of a few hundred people. How did this bold project get made by a small council at the furthest end of the motu? Sustainable Engineering talked to the people involved in the rebuild of the Luggate Memorial Hall, seeking insights that might help other non-residential projects …
Passive House in the spotlight
Josefine Watterson’s Featherston home has just received certification but already it is doubtless the nation’s best known Passive House home, thanks to being featured on Grand Designs. Josefine is the owner, architect, Passive House designer, project manager and joiner, a noteworthy number of hats to wear. She deserves congratulations on a very high-performing build that came in on time and …
Jessica Eyers moving to Sustainable Engineering Ltd
Jessica Eyers is joining Sustainable Engineering Ltd in 2023. Jessica needs little introduction to New Zealand’s Passive House community as she has been a certified Passive House designer for nearly a decade. Jessica’s arrival will further increase the company’s capacity to carry out Passive House design and take on large and more complicated projects. Jessica will bring valuable insight as …
Q&A on Passive House on Today FM podcast
Sustainable Engineering principal Jason Quinn featured in a long segment on the Design & Build Show. The interviewers did a good job of raising lots of the misconceptions that linger about the Passive House methodology. Hopefully Jason dispelled them. It was great that Ngā Kāinga Anamata got discussed at some length. The image above will take you to the second …
New PH design process course is humming along
The first cohort of students in the Practical Passive House design process course are more than halfway through. Everyone in the group of 16 recently completed their first big assignment, a DesignPH model. About a third are using the course to help them develop a client’s design, while others are working through personal projects. Feedback from students has been very …
No Passive House aquatic centre for NZ: yet
Australasian Leisure Management magazine has published a great article on Passive House aquatic facilities by Alex Head from Architecture HDT Christchurch and Sustainable Engineering’s Jason Quinn. As Alex explains, “aquatic and recreation facilities are known for their extremely high cost of ownership, a result of their significant staffing and extremely high energy usage—the highest energy use intensity of any public …
NZ’s first EnerPHit wins architecture awards
Congratulations to Terry Bryers and the construction team for winning a fistful of awards: the Auckland/Northland/Coromandel Supreme Renovation of the Year award, the Renovation Over $1.5 million category, and a Gold Award. According to the Stuff write up, “While the house retains its original concrete structure, it looks and feels completely different. The judges described the renovation as “incredible” and …