uPVC joinery worth another look

Clients (and their designers) who want high-performance buildings on a limited budget need to consider uPVC windows. Elsewhere, almost every Passive House on a budget will use uPVC joinery, typically...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Airtightness, explained (plus, see blower doors in action)

Check out these helpful instructional videos on airtightness and air leakage testing. Made in Australia, the general observations about lack of awareness of the importance of airtightness apply here too....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Need more than just higher performance building code changes to decarbonize

“In buildings, it has become clear that there are two very distinct problems. One concerns new buildings — where, for example, advanced heat pump technology can allow for electrification of...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Mouldy Schools Resource

Mouldy Schools Resource Some advice from health professionals and articles on damp mouldy schools. We are building scientists and are not health professionals or even public health researchers (we strongly...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Yes – it’s a Passive House Plus Office Building

Crazy looking building: but under the iridescent facade is a standard form office building. Well, standard aside from the funky double concrete staircase. The architect’s website has some great photos....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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New NZ homes emitting 5x more carbon than <2 deg budget allows

This first study of its kind in New Zealand attempts to calculate how much carbon new homes can emit if we are to stay within the 2 degrees warming limit...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Ireland releases new nearly-zero energy building regulations

Ireland has released its nearly-zero energy buildings regulations (to comply with EU requirements) and insulation supplier Xtratherm has published a guide for builders/designers. I’ve pulled together a table of the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Embodied carbon/energy—it’s in the floors

I know this seems obvious when you think about timber-framed residential buildings: all the embodied CO2 is in the concrete and steel, so the bulk of it is used in...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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About time: Damn right, mechanical ventilation is appropriate in all new buildings

Why am I sounding overjoyed at this simple text from BRANZ? The backstory goes a long way back.   In its <December 2019 Guideline https://www.branz.co.nz/guideline>, the front story is about...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2019

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2019 October 1 Build: How Airtight Do Houses Need To Be

This article doesn’t really come to a conclusion other than the old rule of thumb of divide the blower door ACHn50 by 20 to determine the average infiltration is not...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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2019 September 30 Passive Houses on Energy Efficiency

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...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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2019 September 27 AU Codes to Zero Carbon

Built to Perform: An Industry Led Pathway to a Zero Carbon Ready Building Code 3 July 2018 Improved energy performance of buildings presents a win-win-win opportunity, reducing stress on the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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2019 September 20 ATTMA: Registered Air Tightness Testers - New Zealand

2019 September 20 ATTMA: Registered Air Tightness Testers – New Zealand

List of all the current air leakage testers in New Zealand accredited with ATTMA. Air leakage testing very tight buildings (as they all should be build tight and ventilate right...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Oppose NASH as AS for E2 as it doesn’t cover external insulation

And putting batts between light steel framing is not a good option as discussed below. https://www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/building-code-update-consultation-november-2019 The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has found that thermal bridging in a wood-framed wall...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2019

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19 August 2019 BMJ Journals: Damp mouldy housing and early childhood hospital admissions for acute respiratory infection: a case control study

Damp mouldy housing and early childhood hospital admissions for acute respiratory infection: a case control study Bottom line for the Wellington Region alone 1710 hospitalizations per year for children under...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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19 August 2019 SunLive: Crank up the heat on someone’s winter

Yes sometimes even sick folks living in cold homes don’t realize how it impacts their health. “Two weeks ago, the temperature dropped to zero or one degrees inland where a...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2019

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15 August 2019 News Hub’s Mel Logan & Dan Satherley: Damp, mouldy homes blamed for high rate of kids with respiratory infections

1600 extra death per year 20% of serious respiratory infections prevented. Seems like warm dry healthy homes would cheaper than what we do now. Content by News Hub....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2019

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13 August 2019 Voxy: Energy company looks at health effects of cold homes

“The WHO report found that cold indoor temperatures have been associated with increased blood pressure, asthma symptoms and poor mental health. Cold homes contribute to increases in deaths and disease....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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