Air control layers are critical to warm healthy homes. Paying for a second brand new roof on a building should not be common to homes or commercial buildings. More ventilation can help with controlling moisture under the roof cladding but if there is no air control layer at all in the ceiling ventilation is not always enough. “We have recently …
Honest and fair net zero buildings Sometimes you need to explain complicated technical topics in a very simple way. Like how you would speak to your 95 year old Italian grandmother, Rita, who grew up before TV was a thing. How the hell do you explain Passive House. Better make it simple or she will ask again in about …
We participated in the initial feasibility study for this project and wish to commend Queenstown Lakes District Council for thinking to the future. The team followed the government Better Business Case model to make sure they adequately covered the risks and benefits of targeting a Certified Passive House community hall. “the engagement with the community and the business case now supports …
Many speakers talk about how much time we spend indoors when they talk about how important indoor air quality is and they seldom take the time and reference source of references. So I thought I’d point out this very technical reference to the amount of time spent indoors was a survey done in the United States. It’s been done quite …
Looking for insulation in the purchase of a new home is an excellent idea and looking for bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans is even more critical. Unfortunately this is not sufficient as we are seeing brand new homes that clearly meet all of these recommendations and are still having mould issues. We would suggest having continuous mechanical ventilation with a …
Luggate Hall is the is a community hub in Queenstown that needs to be replaced due to seismic strengthening. The community has pulled together a business case plan through the Government’s better business model to pursue Certified Passive House for that community hall in order to capture the thermal comfort, health & the low energy ongoing energy cost benefits. Once …
A fairly common question during the certification process is ‘What sort of construction documentation is required for a certified passive house?’ Required documentation for a Certified Passive House (Passivhaus) or PHI Low Energy Building is that sufficient to fully check the energy model and design quality and assure that the building was built as per the design. That sort of …
Beautiful English Passive House social housing apartments for the elderly: “18 apartments split into three blocks totalling 1057 sqm treated floor area. The larger block is comprised of 14 one-bedroom apartments at 55 sqm each, while the two identical smaller buildings each contain two two-bed apartments at 68 sqm each.” Unlike most project descriptions, this article has a refreshingly frank …
This report reviewed detailed test measurements for air tightness and heating loads for passive houses and non-passive houses designed to meet an energy target. From this data the Passive Houses (Passivhaus in the UK) predicted performance matched quite closely to the measurements compared to other non-passive house designed buildings. “Most of the homes were fitted with mechanical ventilation with heat …
