Current Events Archives - Sustainable Engineering Ltd.

Free thermal bridge modelling training

If you’re working on Homestar V5 projects, this free webinar is for you. (It’s also ideal for all those newly qualified Passive House designers!) Sustainable Engineering’s Jason Quinn is teaching...

Updated: Feb 2022

New thermal performance data for NZ timber window profiles

Consulting with building component manufacturers to help them make good products even better is a favourite activity for the Sustainable Engineering team. Lunds Joinery, a highly-regarded family-owned company in Timaru,...

Updated: Dec 2021

Technical Notes

ALL certified PH builds in NZ have been written up

Here’s a handy short cut to case studies on all certified Passive House projects in New Zealand to date. Phcert.nz will take you to the Sustainable Engineering website’s case study...

Updated: Mar 2026

We won’t get to zero carbon without energy efficient homes

It’s great to see this piece in popular media, outlining research that shows that, like the rest of the world, New Zealand’s path to a zero carbon future requires homes...

Updated: Oct 2021

Leadership needed in NZ educational sector

New Zealand got underway with Passive House before our Aussie mates but sadly we’ve been thoroughly surpassed in the last couple of years. We have no Passive House projects to...

Updated: Jul 2021

Energy-efficient builds increase sales price: Aus study

I’m often asked for data on the price premium a certified Passive House would command compared to the same house built to the legal minimum requirements of the New Zealand...

Updated: Jun 2021

Join US expert on marketing PH to homeowners

I’m looking forward to this seminar on how to effectively market Passive House and encourage those working on and designing Passive Houses to attend. This Zoom seminar is hosted by...

Updated: Apr 2021

Technical Notes

We can build Passive House quality for the same price as Code-minimum: here’s proof

Joe Lyth is an Auckland based architect and newly-minted Passive House designer. He’s also an UK import who looks on the crappy homes New Zealanders put up with through an...

Updated: Mar 2021

Worthwhile training course: next week!

I highly recommend attending the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors’ training day in Auckland on 20 March. You’ll hear about Kāinga Ora moving to low carbon building at scale,...

Updated: Mar 2021

The Building Code is a minimum, not a quality mark!

I’ve had clients call me with issues but then tell me, “the salesperson said it met Building Code”, as if that means something. All it means is the developer wasn’t...

Updated: Feb 2021

Mechanical ventilation everywhere: not just high-performance buildings

Well-built high-performance buildings need mechanical ventilation. Times have changed, nobody’s really arguing about this any more. But all the other homes built in the last 50 years need mechanical ventilation...

Updated: Feb 2021

Don’t get scammed

Recently my son asked me if I’d ever been scanned. (He was really interested, which is becoming less common when I’m speaking now he’s 12.) At first I couldn’t think...

Updated: Feb 2021

City Council: we will build 500 PH units in 5 years

More Passive House units have been completed in Exeter in the United Kingdom: what a start to the new year for the lucky social housing tenants who are moving in...

Updated: Jan 2021

It’s not rocket science: actually it’s harder

This great profile of Sustainable Engineering’s founding director delivers a nice intro to Passive House—while also telling the story of how a campervan trip around New Zealand saw a NASA...

Updated: Nov 2020

Wellington worst place for damp, mouldy housing

If you missed this in-depth Stuff article, it’s worth reviewing: Infometrics senior economist Brad Olsen used the latest census data to find where in New Zealand, on average, has the...

Updated: Nov 2020

Small improvements are not enough

Rochelle Ade’s doctoral research findings have had quite a bit of media attention in recent weeks. Not surprising, given her claim that Homestar ratings aren’t delivering what they claim (and...

Updated: Nov 2020

Green co-leader backs Passive House and co-housing

Great to see Tim Ross of Architype guiding James Shaw around the building site of the Dunedin co-housing project. When this project is completed next year, it will (if it...

Updated: Oct 2020

Cooking with gas is like idling a car in your kitchen

This story about the American Gas Association promoting gas cooking via Instagram influencers makes me cringe. “Every time you ignite a gas stove, you’re filling your home with many of...

Updated: Aug 2020