World’s smallest Passive House building?
What and where is the world’s smallest certified Passive House building? I was asked this question today and didn’t know the answer. It turns out my guess was way off. ...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: May 2024
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The right filter matters in your MVHR system
MVHR systems are great but they need the right filters and the right maintenance to do their job well. I draw your attention to a useful article published by Scottish...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Thermal bypass a basic step to improving building performance
I get asked periodically how to increase building performance without spending extra money. Well, better-than-Code performance is going to cost something so I focus on low-hanging fruit: what’s the greatest...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Apr 2024
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There are lots of different reasons why people build Passive House homes
What motivates people and organisations to build better homes? And how do they afford them? It was interesting to chat with Architype principal Tim Ross this week about the Arthur...
by Rachel Rose
Updated: Apr 2024
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Keep heat pump and ventilation systems separate for best results
Buildings need fresh air, every single one of them. Even the very best-performing ones will also need some (possibly very little) heating or cooling at peak times of year. Ducting...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Apr 2024
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SketchUp’s new release does not work with designPH 2.1
SketchUp 2024 is now available but if you are using designPH, please hold off on updating SketchUp until designPH2.2 is released! Otherwise you won’t be able to use designPH. PHI...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Apr 2024
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Is Passive House actually worth it?
I’m often asked (usually politely): Is building to the Passive House standard actually worth it? Yes it is, is the unequivocal answer. There’s a brilliant summary paper written by Dr...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Alternative balcony design for low carbon buildings
Global design practice Perkins & Wills has released a beautiful white paper on balconies for buildings concerned with lowering carbon emissions. It considers thermal bridges and overall design considerations. Balconies...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Apr 2024
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Build better houses to solve dry year energy problem
Newsflash: using less energy is better than generating more of it. I know that seems obvious given the cost of new electricity generation schemes but it’s even more significantly beneficial...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Revised ASHRAE standard gets serious on building decarbonisation
ASHRAE in the USA is really focusing on building decarbonisation, finally. ASHRAE Journal March 2024 contains a really readable summary of the changes to ASHRAE Standard 100-2024, Energy and Emissions...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Simple timber buildings are ripe for retrofits
This Canadian retrofit project is encouraging: it’s an old timber-framed and clad building with single-paned glazing in timber frames. Built in the 1850s, it’s older than the New Zealand homes...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2024
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10 Passive House design tips for keeping cool in summer
The high temperatures this past summer have served to sharpen everyone’s focus on how to design Passive House buildings to remain comfortable for longer when the temps spike. The team...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2024
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DefignTalks podcast talks operational energy
The first episode of a new podcast for architectural designers launched this week, and its first guest is Sustainable Engineering Ltd’s principal Jason Quinn. Hosts Glenn Murdoch and Casey Curtis...
by Rachel Rose
Updated: Mar 2024
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The Heights Whare keeps gathering attention
Newly certified LEB The Heights Whare has been featured in an extensive two-page (broadsheet) story in the Otago Daily Times. It can only be read online by subscribers (the ODT...
by Rachel Rose
Updated: Mar 2024
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Siddall’s latest paper does not say Passive House homes shouldn’t use recirculating kitchen extraction
Mark Siddall is a Passive House pioneer in the UK and his latest (collaborative) paper is of course worth reading. It reviews the indoor air quality (IAQ) in residential Passive...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Mar 2026
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Easier ways to gather data to predict mould growth
Modelling mould growth in domestic environments using relative humidity and temperature is a useful technical paper, as it seeks to modify the VTT model of mould growth on surfaces to...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Feb 2024
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Bader Ventura is a certified Passive House project
Oddly, this write-up about Kainga Ora’s Bader Ventura project doesn’t make it explicit that the building did achieve Passive House certification. You can read a detailed case study by Sustainable...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Feb 2024
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Fine particulate pollution is terrible for human health
Today I learned that lymph nodes are heavily impacted by air pollution. This photo shows lymph nodes specifically associated with the lungs and how they are affected by air pollution...
by Jason Quinn
Updated: Feb 2024
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