Passive House Climate Files for NZ
As of 13 December 2017 there are six additional PHI certified climate files for NZ. These now cover all of NZ including the Chatham Islands. It is important to note...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Top 10 tricks for PHPP speed and ease
Tech Tips with Toby PHPP is the software Passive House designers use to model the performance of buildings—before they are built. It’s a front-end on an Excel spreadsheet. Now, most...
by Toby Brooke
Updated: Jun 2021
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New design choices possible in Queenstown and Wellington
Thermal comfort targets have been revised by the Passive House Institute for use in PHPP. Passive House certification requires that windows and doors meet specified thermal comfort targets*. This requirement...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jun 2021
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MVHR commissioning in Certified Passive House Buildings (includes PHI Low Energy Building Standard and EnerPHit as well)
In order to certify your building as meeting the exacting Passive House Standard the certification standard “Criteria for the Passive House, EnerPHit and PHI Low Energy Building Standard, version 9f,...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Documentation required for a Certified Passive House
A fairly common question during the certification process is ‘What sort of construction documentation is required for a certified passive house?’ Required documentation for a Certified Passive House (Passivhaus) or...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jun 2021
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The Four Control Layers – Fundamentals of Building Science
The Building Enclosure and the Four Control Layers Understanding of the building enclosure and the four control layers that make up the building enclosure is vital to understanding how...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jun 2021
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SE Certification Platform Checklist
Sustainable Engineering Ltd. provides client certification resources to help them with their certification process. The attached link to the PDF is a list of all the different entries of the...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jun 2021
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Stress test your design for Overheating
I hate comfort complaints. Not the complaining bit – folks are nice – but I hate the failed expectations of comfort. This past summer I had several calls from clients...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Jul 2021
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Glass is rocket science for high performance buildings
During a presentation at the South Pacific Passive House Conference in Christchurch (March 2017). I spoke on lessons learned from New Zealand projects. One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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How to estimate of the R-value of unconditioned spaces
Several Passive House projects undergoing certification have requested a way to estimate the additional R-value of an adjoining unconditioned spaces (such as garage). A good example is a garage which...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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DHW Tanks – W/K from kWh/day
Summary The Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) requires that energy losses from Domestic Hot Water (DHW) Storage tanks be entered as Watts per degree Kelvin (W/K) rather than the more...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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How to scale HRV data to ERV for use in Passive House Planning Package
Summary Several Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) systems available have HRV performance data for the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) but do not have Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) performance data. Knowing...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Hygiene Criterion applied to a thermal bridge
PH certification criteria requires that a minimum surface temperature be achieved. Steps: 1. Determine the exterior temperature to use – call this the Hygiene External Temperature. This temperature can be...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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