It’s great to see the progress Rochelle and Joel have made on their home. I grew up with a DIY-builder father, so I know how disruptive it can be to live in a construction site. We’ve helped out on other rammed earth projects, but theirs is the only one targeting Passive House Certification. “Rochelle and Joel Payne of Beachlands, Auckland …
I was happy to accept the TWO awards for Thermadura (Dunedin) and SEDA (Auckland) for their certified timber aluminium window systems. This is an incredibly competitive event and I was proud NZ manufactures scored two out of the four awards for the warm, temperate climate. Details of the competition and links below: “The 1st Prize Timber Aluminium in warm, temperate …
This is another example of the ongoing shift from an engineering focus on saving energy to saving carbon. In order to do this properly, system engineering needs to be emphasized to an even greater extent using multi-disciplinary optimization (MDO). “The goal of the annual LowDown Showdown design challenge is to model buildings that get as close to zero energy as …
Great article by Australia writer David Thorp on a Passive House social housing project in the UK. Delightful, lovely, socially connected and award-winning Passive House homes. “Mikhail said that he hopes this will give a new dynamic to the construction of council housing in the UK. “At this time when we have a housing and climate change crisis we need …
“When the family bought their home, it was newly built. Over time, they saw mould on the ceiling and their roof began to leak, damaging their insulation. Their children began to have breathing problems and their home required constant maintenance.” Installing a heat pump is likely to significantly dry out their home as it will be cheaper to open windows more. …
“Passive House certified accommodation for Monash University students has taken out the Built Environment category at this year’s Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards held in Melbourne last week.” I expect that in the next few years all the buildings winning will be certified Passive House buildings. This is a great first example of extraordinary low operating energy of Passive House, as …
“Government regulation will be needed to achieve net-zero carbon buildings says architectural engineering professor Larry Bellamy.” Let’s hope those regulations are good ones that take building physics into account and don’t allow system-wide poor choices. I push energy efficiency every day—it’s what I do—but increased energy efficiency requires better building practices, not just stuffing in more insulation. Read more on …
Paying utility bills is a stretch for many New Zealand households. As we move to a low-carbon economy, a raft of measures may be necessary to ensure that energy costs do not weigh more heavily on those already financially burdened. Analysis using the Household Economic Survey, an annual survey run by Stats NZ that measures the economic wellbeing of New …
80-90% heating energy reduction (well for those that could afford to heat their homes) saves energy, CO2 and costs less over the lifespan of the building than building to the legally required minimum (i.e. code). Passive House Pools (Passivhaus) are being built in the UK and were measured to save 70% of the heating energy costs (electricity) in the first …
