Airtightness results in NZ PH builds keep improving

The Leith Valley Passive House in Dunedin is New Zealand’s newest certified Passive House Plus home and can boast of an extraordinary blower door test result: 0.17 air changes per...

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Nov 2021

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Gone in 60 mins

Wow. The scale of this Irish development is immense: 219 Passive House homes planned across a 26-acre site in Belfast, a £70m project . The first 12 houses released for...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2021

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Passive House homes make for happy families

Wonderful article from Stuff on the Sole Family Passivhaus in Christchurch. The Soles built a well-above-Code home about 10 years previously, but decided to go all the way on this,...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2021

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Passive House is totally achievable (and worth it)

This is a stand-out article from San Francisco Bay area Passive House builders, One Sky Homes. These guys are the real deal, coming to Passive House over a decade ago...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Westpac get behind Raglan PH build

An in-depth Passive House case study … from a major bank? Good to see Westpac recognising the value of Passive House certification and providing finance for this Raglan project.  This...

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Nov 2021

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SIP build a good PH option

“How much space do you need? Do you need a TV room, a rumpus room, a dining room, and a living room? New Zealand is an amazing country: get out...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2021

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Ngā Kāinga Anamata announced

Kāinga Ora’s first Passive House pilot project was a great milestone but we knew far more was in the works and today we are happy to be able to share...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Passive House subdivision in Christchurch blazes a trail

Interesting perspective here on materials from an experienced builder of certified Passive Houses. Peter Bielski of Ethos Homes is a fan of panelisation—in a shed on site, in the case...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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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...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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PHPP10 launched

Update [June 2022] PHPP10 is now available in English. In case you hadn’t heard, PHPP10 was released at the 25th International Passive House conference in Wuppertal last month. That’s the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2022

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Why bigger is easier

There’s still lots of talk about the cost premium to build a detached family home to the Passive House standard and how much that premium is. Let’s not overlook that...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2021

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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...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Kāinga Ora will drive Passive House uptake across the whole building sector

Kāinga Ora’s announcement of its first Passive House pilot project, the 18-unit Bader Ventura apartment building in Mangere, Auckland, is receiving a lot of attention with stories running across national...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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‘Worlds Apart’ graphic depicts future pathways

I spend most of my waking hours focused on improving the performance of the buildings: for the sake of the humans who live, work and play within them and for...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2021

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Breaking news: Warmer, healthier homes are worth more

This recent Stuff story was a pretty well-considered look at whether improvements in thermal performance influence sale prices. I’ve covered this ground before, in my book and in this blog...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jul 2021

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NZIA adds weight to call for better Building Code

In this high-profile recent opinion piece, Marcus Hogan (professional practice director at Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects), points out that even new homes built to meet the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jul 2021

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The take-back effect

Folks are illogical. Including me. I think a fizzy drink should cost about $1 and don’t want to pay more—but $5 for a coffee is alright. Weird. Well it turns...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Passive House performance would fix the dry winter energy problem

The stumbling block to a fully renewable energy grid in New Zealand is what to do in a dry winter, when electrical demand peaks but there’s not enough water in...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2021

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