Current Events Archives - Page 2 of 10 - Sustainable Engineering Ltd.

Yes! MBIE action on climate change for building sector

Finally, it’s been published. This company has been working on better buildings to address climate change since 2011 and MBIE’s announcement today is definitely causing celebration in our office. It’s...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

Look back and celebrate: 8 years of PH in NZ

It’s eight years since the first New Zealand home was certified as a Passive House. That distinction went to the aptly named PH1NZ in Auckland. (Notable second was a more...

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Aug 2020

CLT passive house apartments blaze near-zero carbon path

I’m pleased to see a five-story Passive House apartment building planned for Boston, built from cross-laminated timber (CLT). In my opinion, the best way to reduce the embodied energy or...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

NZ entries for the 2020 Passive House Award?

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...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

New NZ homes emitting 5x more carbon than <2 deg budget allows

This first study of its kind in New Zealand attempts to calculate how much carbon new homes can emit if we are to stay within the 2 degrees warming limit...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

Technical Notes

Every house a Certified Passive House by 2030

There are about 30,000 new houses a year currently built in New Zealand. In a decade, could they all be certified Passive House? I think it can be done but...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

Carbon-positive landscapes too

The basic idea? The chosen materials and landscape components sequester carbon to balance out the carbon it took to create it, all within five to 20 years. (Five for greener...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

2019 November 26 Otago Daily Times: Sustainable Communal Housing Requires Skill

This is a great short video of the co-housing project. If you watch closely you can see lots of construction details and products. My favourite Easter egg is the shot...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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2019 November 26 Radio New Zealand: Mouldy Home Victims Get New Lease On Life

In our opinion every home needs continuous mechanical ventilation. EVERY HOME. Alice Peacock, who works as a social worker with the healthy housing programme, travels around the Bay helping vulnerable...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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2019 November 21 Wanaka Sun: Meeting Luggate Community Needs

“QLDC endorsed an ultra‐low energy passive house concept for the new hall in late 2018, which will make it one of the first community facilities built and certified to passive...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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2019 November 21 Scoop Business: Build a Healthy Home for Asthma Sufferers

“Often the last place considered to improve health, thermal efficiencies, home comforts, and more, is the slab your house is built on. Yet it might surprise you to learn that...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

2019 November 20 “Architects Declare”: NZ Profession Takes a Stand on Combating Climate Change

“Architects Declare”: NZ profession takes a stand on combatting climate change “We have a New Zealand version of Architects Declare, an international set of guidelines that signatories pledge to follow...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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2019 November 11 Otago Daily Times: Sustainable Architectural Approach Earns Distinguished Award

I had the pleasure of meeting Anne for the first time last week, at her office in Wanaka. She is the architect for Luggate Hall, which is targeting Certified Passive...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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2019 November 9 Newsroom: Unanimous Support For Landmark Zero Carbon Bill

Very excited to see the New Zealand Zero Carbon Bill passed … unanimously. Didn’t expect that but I’m very pleased. We know that buildings can contribute significantly to reducing carbon...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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2019 November 5 Passive House Institute: districtPH – Assessing Energy-Saving Potentials at the District Level!

Sustainable Engineering just purchased the first license for new modelling software, districtPH. This was developed in Germany by Passive House International with funding from the EU. Think of it as...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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2019 November 4 University of Otago Wellington: Improving Housing Standards for Co-Benefits for Energy Efficiency, Carbon Mitigation and Health

The Public Health Summer School symposium on 11 February will be eye-opening and I recommend you attend. This is the team that made the Healthy Home Guidelines a political reality...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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2019 October 29 The Fifth Estate: Every Building Counts – Time To Tackle The Laggards

Profitable carbon savings through better buildings … it’s a strategy we hear about more and more. I love hearing all these policy options: but I hope that the changes proposed...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

2019 October 28: We Need The Building Code Fixed

2019 October 28: We Need The Building Code Fixed

In my opinion, the energy provisions in H1 are not fit for purpose. As Kylie Mills writes, “To make buildings better … the quickest way is for regulations to change.”...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026