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31 January 2019 Consumer’s James le Page: Fixing the New Zealand Building Code

“Each newly built house that that only just meets our meagre Building Code potentially leaves the new and successive owners living in uncomfortable, unhealthy conditions.  “ “Having proper ventilation is...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Feb 2019

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30 January 2019 Wellington. Scoop: Overheating in your new home – yes you should check

High performance homes are designed to use the least amount of energy possible to keep the occupants comfortable and healthy. We carefully select the windows their shading and details of...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Feb 2019

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29 January 2019 Scoop: Insulation boost means more warm dry homes

Good to see after all the research that has been done about poor quality of housing impacts on health that the government is up to speed. Now we need to:...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Feb 2019

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29 January 2019 Boston Green Ribbon Commission’s Miriam Wasser: Boston aims to be carbon-free by 2050. Here are 5 takeaways from a new report

NZ is in the lucky position to already have a significant ~80% of our energy from renewables. Given that and lacking a full engineering analysis city-by-city report we can tell...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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22 January 2019 The FIfth Estate’s David Thorpe: Graphene stars in Passivhaus retrofit of Victorian townhouses

Great article but horrible title. The wonder material graphene is added to the paint as an anti-cracking additive. Neat but totally doesn’t impact the performance of this Passivhaus. Also great...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jan 2019

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19 November 2018 The Green List’s The Fern: These Redfern apartments will change your life, and save a motza

Ouch. “Even for supposedly sustainable houses and apartments. The rating tools are good he says, but their problem is “too much greenwash”, not enough post-occupancy evaluation, and an almost “criminally”...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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2018 December 01 Build Magazine’s Manfred Plagmann: Mould, occupants and house condition

Air control layers are critical to warm healthy homes. Paying for a second brand new roof on a building should not be common to homes or commercial buildings. More ventilation...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jan 2019

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23 October 2018 ArchDaily: Sri Lanka Passive House / JPDA

Certified Passive House is not only for cold climates but that is still where you find most of them. This Certified Passive House Factory is located in Sri Lanka which...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Passive House Classes Classic, Plus and Premium

Passive House Classes Explained: Classic, Plus and Premium

Honest and fair net zero buildings   Sometimes you need to explain complicated technical topics in a very simple way. Like how you would speak to your 95 year old...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2018

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17 December 2018 Otago Daily Times: Passive housing standard for hall

This central community hall has the potential to shift the viewpoint on building quality and performance in Queenstown district. “Deputy Mayor Calum MacLeod described it as “futuristic thinking” for the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2018

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2018 December 13 The Wanaka Sun’s Allison McLean: Luggate to open its doors to an energy efficient new hall

We participated in the initial feasibility study for this project and wish to commend Queenstown Lakes District Council for thinking to the future. The team followed the government Better Business Case...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2018

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11 December 2018 The Fifth Estate: Technology and prefab could change the game for housing construction

It is interesting to see how Passive House has become the reference point. In this article break-through prefabricated housing is associated with quality by being pretty good but not quite....

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2018

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Prevention of fabric and interior furnishings fading from the sun

If you could block 100% of UV light than the fading would be reduced to approximately 1/3rd the amount. As the entire spectrum of light contributes to fading and it...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2018

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24 July 2001 The National Human Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS): a resource for assessing exposure to environmental pollutants

Many speakers talk about how much time we spend indoors when they talk about how important indoor air quality is and they seldom take the time and reference source of...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Apr 2019

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30 November 2018 NZ Herald: How to spot a healthy home

Looking for insulation in the purchase of a new home is an excellent idea and looking for bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans is even more critical. Unfortunately this is not...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2018

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22 November 2018 ATTMA Workshop

Our director, Jason Quinn, had the privilege of attending the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Association of Australia’s general meeting in Sydney. This meeting covered not only the general meeting of...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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2019 South Pacific Passive House Conference and Trade Show

Our director, Jason Quinn, will be teaching the advanced clinic on Thermal Comfort and Overheating at the South Pacific Passive House Conference. The workshop will cover the impacts of design...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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2019 South Pacific Passive House Conference (SPPHC)

Sustainable Engineering Ltd. recommends that everyone who possibly can go to the South Pacific Passive House Conference(SPPC). This conference will be held for the first time in Wellington on February...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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