“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 house standard anywhere in New Zealand.” I expect this project will result in a significant change in how councils view the business case for facilities they will own and operate …
“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 approximately 15% of a home’s heat is lost through the foundation.” We agree completely with this media release by MaxRaft that New Zealand houses need fully insulated slabs, especially including …
“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 to help prevent irreversible damage from the global heating climate crisis.” It is good to see the architectural profession in NZ wake up and realise they can make a difference. …
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 House performance. Good to see her recognised for her work. I’m looking forward to seeing something amazing for what we all hope will be the first of many Certified Passive …
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 emissions. Key to making that happen are deep changes in the building code and finding incentives for deep retrofits. Reaching zero carbon is going to take society-wide changes. The building …
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 PHPP for neighbourhoods. It enables simulations of energy use and interactions across a district or even an entire region, modelling not just the energy use of buildings, but any infrastructure …
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 and now they have turned their attention to fixing the Building Code, exploring the mutual benefits that flow from designing for energy efficiency, carbon mitigation and health. I attended the …
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 are big steps that focus on achieving zero carbon by 2050 and not short-term reductions focused on say, 30 per cent by 2030. We must avoid “locking-in” carbon emissions by …
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.” She goes on to quote Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC): “Improved energy performance of buildings presents a win-win-win opportunity, reducing stress on the electricity network, offering bill savings, supporting …
