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...

Updated: Sep 2023

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Detailed LCA resource available

The Buildings and Communities Programme (EBC*) has just published a huge resource of LCA work focused on buildings in Europe.  The focus of the research are heavyweight buildings powered by...

Updated: Sep 2023

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MVHR inlet/extract positions

There’s some new advice available about locating the air inlets and exhausts in MVHR systems. If you’re a Passive House designer or otherwise involved in high-performance building, it’s important to...

Updated: Sep 2023

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TFA or CFA? The difference matters

Anyone who notices there are fewer biscuits in a packet that is outwardly the same size has encountered shrinkflation. Same price, but nine chocolate biccies instead of 11 means 18%...

Updated: Sep 2023

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Understand thermal implications of underfloor heating

Embedded under-floor heating is a luxurious way of keeping a house warm. You may encounter clients who hate heat pumps and who aren’t deterred by the cost of under-floor heating....

Updated: Aug 2023

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Thermal bridge calc error rate is way too high

I estimate nearly half the thermal bridge calculations we see during pre-construction review are wrong. Newly minted Passive House designers and consultants are not wholly responsible. The Sustainable Engineering Ltd...

Updated: Aug 2023

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Q&A: Is spray foam insulation a good idea?

Q. What’s your opinion about spray foam insulation for New Zealand homes? A. Spray foam can be used with good results if properly designed and installed well—but a successful outcome...

Updated: Jul 2023

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MBIE releases technical guidance on operational carbon

I welcome the release of technical guidance for operational carbon calculations by MBIE, as part of its Building for Climate Change programme. There is lots of work ahead of us...

Updated: Mar 2024

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New thermal bridge requirements in US will influence NZ

There are new thermal bridging requirements being rolled out in the US, of which ASHRAE has just summarised. ASHRAE standard 90.1 is for all new buildings excepting low rise housing...

Updated: Jun 2023

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SEL validates ECCHO tool to international standard

Energy modelling New Zealand homes at design stage is easier and more widely available, thanks to a project by Sustainable Engineering for the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC). ECCHO...

Updated: May 2023

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Your clients must own the risk that goes with cost-cutting

How is risk allocated in the design of new buildings? Who benefits and who pays for it? This is at the crux of some very interesting conversations I’ve been having...

Updated: Apr 2023

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The slow switch to ISO standards in NZBC

New Zealand is slowly switching over to using ISO standards, at least for our building energy work and code in H1. The revised H1 switches to the following standards, so...

Updated: Apr 2023

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Least cost, most benefit from jumping straight to Passive House performance

Something I learned from my dad growing up was to do something right … so you only had to do it once. When you do a half-arsed job, you often...

Updated: Apr 2023

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How Luggate Memorial Centre got made

New Zealand’s first Passive House community facility—and it stands in a tiny rural community of a few hundred people. How did this bold project get made by a small council...

Updated: Mar 2023

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Passive House in NZ: certification and rate of uptake rising

Sustainable Engineering is often asked how many PHI certified Passive House buildings there are in New Zealand. So a while back, we added a counter to our website here. We...

Updated: Mar 2026

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Exceptional airtightness results achieved

We’re aware builders are competing to get the lowest air leakage results (well below the 0.6 ACHn50 Passive House requirement). It’s good fun: we have some great Passive House builders...

Updated: Mar 2023

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RIBA Passivhaus Overlay is essential reading

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has produced an extremely well done resource that will be very helpful for New Zealand Passive House designers and architects too. The Passivhaus...

Updated: Mar 2023

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New concrete code of practice published

Concrete New Zealand has published a new document, CP01:2022 – Code of Practice for Weathertightness. It’s available to download from the Technical Documents section. Note that this 2022 update is...

Updated: Feb 2023

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