New plans for Passive House training and certification

Dr Kara Rosemeier has personally trained and certified almost every Passive House professional in New Zealand and her influence cannot be overstated. Kara is preparing for a gradual retirement and...

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Nov 2023

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Air pollution kills New Zealanders

Air pollution is real and has deadly impacts. In New Zealand we’re 10 times more likely to die from the effects of air pollution than from a car accident. Marc...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2023

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Certifier scope of service guidance a helpful read

The Passivhaus Trust, the UK’s industry body, has published an excellent guide to where the roles and responsibilities sit during Passive House design, construction and certification stages. It’s worth reading....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2023

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Successfully marketing Passive House performance

We hear that stories on homes built to Passive House standard are very popular with Stuff readers. Here’s another well-written story about this family home in west Auckland, just completed...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2023

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Leaky buildings ripe for EnerPHit level makeovers

Nick Gaites spent years designing a new home for his family and overseeing its construction, successfully achieving Passive House certification. His family loved the winter they spent living there but...

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Mar 2026

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Passive House design training relaunches, on-demand format

New Zealand needs more Passive Houses—and other buildings heading in that high-performance direction. That requires more confident and skilled Passive House designers. Sustainable Engineering last year launched a new training...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2023

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Growth in multi-family Passive House buildings in North America

The PHI-aligned Passive House Network has released a detailed and inspiring guide to the costs and benefits of multi-family Passive House buildings. It draws on data from New York and...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2023

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A logical staircase to build PH design skills

Seaward House, a newly certified Passive House on Auckland’s waterfront, is a fantastic example of how architects can build their skills in high-performance design in effective, methodical ways. The architect...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2023

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Glazing percentage: handy rule of thumb to prevent overheating

Prevent overheating by keeping the window area to 20% of the floor area. That’s a very old passive solar rule-of-thumb from New England (Eastern USA) where I grew up.  So...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jul 2023

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Kids suffer when schools are poorly designed

Some solid work has been done in Aotearoa New Zealand by very capable architects and Passive House designers to design classrooms to Passive House performance levels. The fact none have...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Retrofitting wall insulation is not risk-free

This article from the BBC discusses claims cavity wall insulation installed as part of a government retrofit scheme has led to homes filled with black mould. The installer has gone...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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All homes need mechanical ventilation

I was happy to see this lovely article on a very high-performance home down in Greymouth but I take issue with the last sentence, which implies that mechanical ventilation is...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2023

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Better building design improves sleep

Sleep is super important for good health and a good life. We know this but generally overlook how building design choices impact sleep quality.  An ASHRAE Journal article just published...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2023

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Filtering out fine particulates increases life expectancy

Indoor air filtration capable of reducing PM2.5 particles increases life expectancy and experts argue should change standards to require better filtration. In general, the filters in ventilation equipment are primarily...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2023

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Scotland sets example for new building performance

Commit to the outcome then work out how to get there, argues Andy Marlow, a leading Australian Passive House designer and former APHA board member. In a recent essay on...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: May 2023

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Australian homes aren’t warm either

Australia is much warmer than New Zealand but apparently not inside their homes in winter. This new study points out that 80% (!) of the Australian homes measured failed to...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: May 2023

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Economic benefits to extensive housing retrofits

Large-scale retrofit programmes to improve New Zealand housing would generate huge benefits, according to a recent report by BERL: $50 billion in health and energy savings and over $116 billion...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: May 2023

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Embodied carbon tools from NZ Green Building Council

The NZ Green Building Council undertook detailed consultation into what its clients needed to assess embodied carbon. It has released a suite of tools to assist with measuring, verifying and...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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