As we near the end of Level 4 lockdown, we asked some Passive House owners around the country about their experience at home these past weeks. It’s hardly a spoiler to summarise that they’re warm and comfortable and love the choices they made. All three are modestly-sized family homes where compromises were made in order to afford high-performance features. What …
Learning from the Canucks: remove barriers, add incentives, invest in training
“The City understood that more Passive House projects would be needed to serve as the icebreakers, making way for all buildings to move toward high-performance outcomes.” Vancouver is heading to very low carbon buildings, a profitable path to zero carbon, by focusing on their Zero Emissions New Building Plan, which focuses on the lessons from Passive House (better envelopes, lower …
CLT passive house apartments blaze near-zero carbon path
I’m pleased to see a five-story Passive House apartment building planned for Boston, built from cross-laminated timber (CLT). In my opinion, the best way to reduce the embodied energy or carbon in buildings is to reduce concrete and steel—and increase the timber content. A CLT structure does all three at the same time. Added bonus: it speeds construction and removes …
The future of Kiwi architecture is more Certified Passive House
Article by Colleen Hawkes for Stuff What will define Kiwi architecture in the 2020s? ” And what does the future hold? In a nutshell, we can expect to see more certified Passive Houses that reduce energy needs to almost zero, more sustainable materials and design, greater use of solar power, more prefabrication, lots of different housing options – and an …
Need more than just higher performance building code changes to decarbonize
“In buildings, it has become clear that there are two very distinct problems. One concerns new buildings — where, for example, advanced heat pump technology can allow for electrification of heating systems. The other, much bigger problem is how to cut emissions from existing buildings, which will account for most emissions from this sector. Here the actions are a blend …
Fixing problem buildings needs structural change
Like always, Otago University’s Public Health Summer School this month was galvanising. Creating better housing in order to produce a triple benefit—improved energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions and better health—was the theme this year. The questions are huge, the stakes are critically high and the solutions are various but all complex. I also watched a government official get blindsided by …
Leaking, mouldy classrooms are just the symptom
Mould can make kids sick, that’s the key takeaway here. It gets worse the more mould there is and the more time they are exposed to it. Kids are required to spend heaps of time in school. We need to fix their exposure to things that can make them sick—lifelong sick. The Ministry of Education has a huge challenge given …
Into the lion’s den: talking Passive House to earth builders
“What I didn’t realise is that Passivhaus is actually a simplification of design, where I originally thought it was all about complicated mechanical systems. This speaker made me realise that Passivhaus and earth building could be a match made in heaven.” —Editor, Earth Building I’ve struggled myself to explain Passive House in a way that people can grasp. From the …
Mouldy Schools Resource
Mouldy Schools Resource Some advice from health professionals and articles on damp mouldy schools. We are building scientists and are not health professionals or even public health researchers (we strongly recommend listening to those folks and enjoy learning at Public Health Summer School each year in Wellington). Advice for homes which is applicable to schools as well. Schools for Health show …