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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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26 November 2018 News Now: Poverty advocate ‘incredibly disappointed’ Housing NZ satisfied dying woman, 78, living in mouldy South Auckland home

Although this is again one horrible house and one family in an unfortunate situation it is representative of a large number of really unhealthy homes in NZ. I seldom see...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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22 November 2018 The Wanaka Sun’s Ruth Blunt: A healthy heart for Luggate

Luggate Hall is the is a community hub in Queenstown that needs to be replaced due to seismic strengthening. The community has pulled together a business case plan through the...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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22 November 2018 The Fifth Estate’s Tina Perinotto: Passive House business Hütt Homes jumps onto new crowd funding platform

Hütt Homes has made news in Australia by seeking crowdfunding for its passive house design business. This crowdfunding is an equity investment allowed by the new recent changes in Australians...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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19 November 2018 Stuff’s Susan Edmunds: Many factors push up cost of building new, construction industry says

People who have built a Certified Passive House are often asked how much they cost. The words from the owners ranges from my Certified Passive House cost about the same...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Dec 2018

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15 November 2018 HVAC&R News’ Laura Timberlake: Passive House to hit mass market?

Frasers Property Australia is the first mass market developer in all of Australia who’s looking forward to making passive houses through their in-house design team. They know the primary benefits...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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Documentation required for a Certified Passive House

A fairly common question during the certification process is ‘What sort of construction documentation is required for a certified passive house?’ Required documentation for a Certified Passive House (Passivhaus) or...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2021

  • Certification Guidance
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7 November 2018 ArchitectureNow Editorial Desk: The eco-ethical house: part two

I’ve had the great pleasure of staying overnight in this Passive House with some friends. It was beautifully warm and quiet inside. Although it was cold outside that night one...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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05 November 2018 Chris Lewis, Federated Farmers Opinion: Farmers deserve honest discussion about the future of housing

More and more folks are realizing that housing contributes to their health. Federated Farmers steps up to looking after their members and their children’s health. Talk about blunt quotes ‘asthma-inducing...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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31 October 2018 Architecture Now’s Justine Harvey and Camille Khouri: The Eco-Ethical House: Shotover House Case Study

We’d like to congratulate Certified Passive House Fesigner Guy Shaw on his elegant design of this passive house. This elegant design easily met the certification criteria. We are particularly fond...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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20181026_PassiveHouse+SustainableBuilding_PassiveShelteredScheme500yearsInTheMaking

2019 October 26 Passive House + Sustainable Building: Passive Sheltered Scheme 500 Years in the Making

Beautiful English Passive House social housing apartments for the elderly: “18 apartments split into three blocks totalling 1057 sqm treated floor area. The larger block is comprised of 14 one-bedroom...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Aug 2020

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25 October 2018 HVAC&R News’ Marc Vender: Mould Inquiry Calls for Tighter Building Standards

Surprise! Australian buildings have very similar problems to New Zealand buildings. They’re finding that mould is prevalent throughout their buildings because they don’t require designing to prevent mould in their...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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26 October 2018 Passive House Plus Jeff Colley: Study: extreme overheating not reflected in building simulations

Dangerous overheating in buildings may not be showing up in desktop studies, new research suggests.”   “Monitored operative temperatures of up to 47.5C recorded in a highly glazed apartment building...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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26 October 2018 Passive House Plus’ Kate de Selincourt: Performance gap much smaller for passive homes, research finds

This report reviewed detailed test measurements for air tightness and heating loads for passive houses and non-passive houses designed to meet an energy target. From this data the Passive Houses...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Nov 2018

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10 October 2018 Crux Kerrie Waterworth: Why do we still build the wrong houses?

“I like to build for people, not for profit”. Quote from Isaac Davidson “If we’ve got a subdivision of 1600 new homes to build, you have to ask is it...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2019

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11 October 2018 Now To Love: Congratulations Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman – NEXT Woman of the Year 2018!

Our congratulations to Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman as well. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and hear her important research on the direct relation between really bad housing and bad health in...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Oct 2018

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9 October 2017 AIRAH: Improving the energy efficiency of residential climate control systems

Newly released standard AS/NZS 5141:2018 Residential heating and cooling systems – Minimum applications and requirements for energy efficiency, performance and comfort criteria Specifies requirements for the design, selection, installation, commissioning...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Mar 2026

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The Four Control Layers – Fundamentals of Building Science

The Building Enclosure and the Four Control Layers   Understanding of the building enclosure and the four control layers that make up the building enclosure is vital to understanding how...

by Jason Quinn

Updated: Jun 2021

  • Certification Guidance
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