Understanding DataTables and Variants

Tech Tips with Toby Variants is a handy tool when using PHPP to model multiple design options within the one PHPP file. Suppose you’re trying different window frames, glazing or...

by Toby Brooke

Updated: Sep 2020

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Focus on performance not just appearance in the Christchurch rebuild

Christchurch City Council’s urban design team has turned in a report that looked at 46 housing developments built since new rules were introduced in 2016 to allow for greater housing...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2020

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Passive House happy hour: Fast, factual, fun

Don’t already know about this? You’ve got some fun and learning to catch up on. This weekly gig is in its sixth month now, bringing Passive House experts together from...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2020

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Affordable housing that works

Todd Rothstein’s recent Global Passive House Happy Hour presentation* focused on the economics of Passive House construction rather than the more usual technical details. Todd’s goal is to build affordable...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Sep 2020

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Mechnical ventilation is a no-brainer

Fresh air is good for people but also the buildings   I grumble about BRANZ, but the scientists working there are good people trying to fix problems with how we...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Cheaper. Better. Just do it.

Sydney’s first PH built for less than an equivalent Code house A fantastic report on the cost premium for building a Passive House has been released by Sydney architect Andy...

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Mar 2026

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Heat pumps a great choice for high-performance homes

Heat pumps are suitable for every climate zone in New Zealand, even the coldest, and they are the most efficient source of heating and cooling. Don’t buy crappy ones. New...

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Mar 2026

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RNZ Explores Barriers to Passive House

RNZ presenter Kathryn Ryan asked some very good questions in a recent interview about whether all new social housing in New Zealand should be built to the Passive House standard....

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Aug 2020

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Even a ‘green grid’ has a carbon cost

We can’t solar panel our way out of climate change: energy demand must fall as well. And especially in the winter, when less solar energy is available! This alone is...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2023

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Barriers to Passive House and how to solve them

RNZ presenter Kathryn Ryan asked some very good questions in a recent interview about whether all new social housing in New Zealand should be built to the Passive House standard....

by Rachel Rose

Updated: Jul 2020

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Cooking with gas is like idling a car in your kitchen

This story about the American Gas Association promoting gas cooking via Instagram influencers makes me cringe. “Every time you ignite a gas stove, you’re filling your home with many of...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Yes! MBIE action on climate change for building sector

Finally, it’s been published. This company has been working on better buildings to address climate change since 2011 and MBIE’s announcement today is definitely causing celebration in our office. It’s...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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iPHA Passive House tour time!

And this year it is virtual. OK, it’s not the same as getting our grubby fingers on everything but there are significant benefits to seeing inside Passive Houses around the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Welcome media attention on improving NZ homes

Stuff ran an impressively long and well-researched story on Passive House and the need for net-zero buildings this week; it’s well worth a read in its entirety and a plug on...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Choose gas for cooking? Please don’t.

I recommend against combustion devices in homes—all of them. Using gas to cook is particularly bad, with health impacts related to the indoor air pollution it causes. (American think tank...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Calculating embodied carbon: live presentation at the NAPHA virtual conference

The North American Passive House Network is hosting a virtual conference next month. The tickets are cheaper and you save all those carbon emissions by not flying. Hopefully, you bought...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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Reality check: PHPP accuracy in the real world

I’m sometime asked just how accurate PHPP’s models are. This great paper quantifies it. “Are the energy savings of the passive house standard reliable? A review of the as-built thermal...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Top 10 tricks for PHPP speed and ease

Tech Tips with Toby PHPP is the software Passive House designers use to model the performance of buildings—before they are built. It’s a front-end on an Excel spreadsheet. Now, most...

by Toby Brooke

Updated: Jun 2021

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