Building the Future: A Vision for Homes That Meet Our Real Needs

Imagine a New Zealand where every home is a sanctuary. A place you can rely on to keep your loved ones healthy, safe, and comfortable, no matter the weather. Imagine...

by Jessica Eyers

Updated: Jun 2026

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Reframing Passive House as decent housing

I’m currently deep in the weeds writing my latest book, Deep Energy Retrofit Handbook for New Zealand, and I keep finding myself re-reading a brilliant document released in April 2024:...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2026

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Parka Wrap wins a 2026 PHI Component Award for window retrofits

Good news: Parka Wrap has just picked up a 2026 Passive House Institute Component Award for their Optimised Window Retrofit Solution. Awesome to see an EnerPHit retrofit solution recognized from...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2026

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High Performance Renovations: My latest chat on the ProClima podcast EP38

I recently sat down with Simon Cator on the ProClima podcast to talk about how we can realistically scale up deep energy retrofits across New Zealand. Heaps to do to...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2026

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How to talk to clients about Passive House: lessons from mainstream media

It is awesome to see such an in-depth article in a non-construction industry magazine like Australian House & Garden. The technical geek in me is sad they conflated total energy...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: May 2026

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Catching up at THRIVE in Melbourne and PHINZ in Auckland

Let’s catch up this conference season. I’ll be heading to the Passivhaus THRIVE conference in Melbourne (June 25-26) and the PHINZ conference in Auckland (July 30-31), and I’m especially keen...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: May 2026

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Wrapping up our first Passive House Retrofit Expert class

I am incredibly proud of the folks in the photo below: the graduates of our very first Passive House Retrofit Expert class. We had a brilliant, mixed cohort of tradespersons,...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: May 2026

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Estimating energy-efficient HVAC system costs for New Zealand homes

I’m often asked what an energy-efficient, low-emissions HVAC system actually costs to install here in New Zealand. The short answer is: we don’t have enough local data. But looking at...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Apr 2026

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Managing moisture in mass timber: Please don’t leave it in the rain

Mass timber buildings are popping up everywhere in New Zealand and Australia, and for good reason. Substituting concrete and steel with Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) saves on embodied carbon and offers...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Apr 2026

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Live online Passive House tradesperson training starts mid-April

High-performance construction demands precision. To get you up to speed with the building science that makes it work, our second online Certified Passive House Tradesperson course kicks off in mid-April....

by ike saniel

Updated: Apr 2026

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Selling solar and Passive House: Framing matters more than the math

A new New Zealand study shows solar panels add a mere 1.3% premium to a house’s sale price, and real estate agents completely ignore the “green” benefits to sell them...

by ike saniel

Updated: Mar 2026

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Test drive your home’s energy performance with a Performance Snapshot

You wouldn’t buy a new car without taking it for a test drive. Yet, people regularly spend millions of dollars on new builds or major retrofits based purely on gut...

by ike saniel

Updated: Mar 2026

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How long do our houses actually last? The 90-year reality

Retrofitting for performance only makes sense financially, at least when you’re already renewing a building element. Ripping off perfectly good cladding to add insulation is a tough sell, but doing...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Ventilate right: ignoring this endangers health

Is Passive House still relevant now that heat pumps are efficient and the grid is decarbonising? Nick Grant tackles this in a recent post, and while the energy arguments are...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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EnerPHit vs the ‘lite’ alternatives

I’ve been deep in the weeds working on the Deep Energy Retrofit Guide for New Zealand, and naturally, that means looking overseas for data we simply don’t have here yet....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Feb 2026

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Short stays in Passive House homes in Aotearoa New Zealand

I’ve been describing the features and benefits of Passive House buildings for years but even my best words can’t convey as much as directly experiencing it with all your senses....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jan 2026

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What is “drier”? Relative versus absolute humidity in Auckland

I’ve just finished reading a new paper in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand by Rochelle Ade, Mike Rehm, and Vishnupriya: “What is drier? Understanding humidity in...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Burning stuff indoors is a $12 billion health bill

In our Passive House design and certification work, we often push clients to ditch gas hobs and wood stoves. Usually, we talk about airtightness, energy efficiency, and the fact that...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jan 2026

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