EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) has launched a valuable resource (2023) to support the aged care and retirement living sector on its decarbonisation journey. The suite of tools and resources, developed with input from the Retirement Village Association of New Zealand (RVA), aims to help facilities reduce their emissions sector-wide. We’ve worked with several retirement community providers in the …
Canada tackles the massive task of greening its buildings
We often look to other countries for examples and lessons learned in the push towards sustainable buildings. A recent article in Canada’s National Observer (July 2024) highlights the significant challenge and opportunity facing Canada in transforming its building industry to meet net-zero targets by 2050. The built environment, including construction, materials, and operations, accounts for nearly 30% of Canada’s greenhouse …
Mapping residential heat demand and resulting emissions
This is a new paper by Jack et al looking at how residential space heating and hot water varies across New Zealand regions with a focus on the amounts and carbon emissions. The idea is that by knowing where the higher carbon emissions are located and what’s going on we could focus on these higher carbon items first. To do …
Palmerston North’s first Passive House
Heartland city Palmerston North now has its very first certified Passive House project, Hokowhitu Passivhaus. It’s notable for a highly-engaged homeowner, a skilled registered architect and a conscientious building team. None of them had prior experience with Passive House but they did choose a very experienced Passive House designer and altogether it went very smoothly. Read on to admire the …
Electrification is the future (and the future is now)
While electrification will drive up electrical consumption, it will simultaneously lead to a vast decrease in overall energy demand. This is primarily because of the far greater efficiency of electric appliances and vehicles compared to their fossil fuel counterparts. If we can successfully make this nationwide shift, it has the potential to fix a lot of our energy-related issues, from …
Replicable design for energy-efficient homes in India
It’s interesting to see how other nations tackle energy efficiency in buildings. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)’s Handbook of Replicable Designs for Energy Efficient Residential Buildings in India provides standardised and practical design templates aimed at reducing energy use in Indian homes. It does this by working through Passive House design strategies tuned for Indian climates. The notable difference …
Assessing feasibility of commercial PV generation
EECA recently published guidance for businesses weighing up commercial PV generation. As always, the devil lies in the detail, and understanding the methodology used to assess the viability of solar energy is important for businesses weighing up possible on-site PV generation. The report, Commercial-scale solar in New Zealand: Information for businesses considering investing in solar energy highlights several crucial considerations. …
Short stays in Passive House homes in Aotearoa New Zealand
I’ve been describing the features and benefits of Passive House buildings for years but even my best words can’t convey as much as directly experiencing it with all your senses. The international Passive House Open Days are a great chance to have a first look but an overnight stay would be a far more complete experience. What vast majority of …
Visiting The House, a giant NYC Passive House housing complex
There’s so much to see in New York City, including lots of certified Passive House buildings. Here’s another side trip I did during last year’s family holiday. The House is a 26-storey apartment building on Roosevelt Island, housing 352 rental apartments for Cornell Tech students, faculty and staff. It was the world’s largest certified Passive House building when it was …