“The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (Building System Performance) has funded the following building standards, used for Building Code compliance, for free download.” Awesome. This includes most of the performance standards for heating/ventilation etc. Located at: https://www.standards.govt.nz/sponsored-standards/building-standards/
23 July 2019 Yes, your brand new house could be cold and damp
An example of a legally code minimum compliant new house that is cold and damp. Look at the photo of the condensation dripping off of the new double glazed windows. They saved only a few percent off of a new building which could’ve been designed, built and then Certified as a quality Passive House. “To live with minimal natural light …
21 July 2019 Stuff’s Chris Hutching: New houses have cladding and joinery that lasts just 15 years
That title is a bit clickbaity but true. NZBC says the bits of house that are easily replaced only have to last 15 years. Twisted funny that this includes the entire cladding of the home but true. Now you can spec a cladding that will last 100 years or 40 years but it’ll usually cost more up front. If all …
11 July 2019 Stuff’s Colleen Hawkes: First Kiwi passive house: Seventh winter without heaters
View PH1NZ Case Study “Fresh air is delivered via a heat exchange system and a series of ducts in each room. Some of the ducts remove air and others deliver fresh air, which is warmed via the heat exchange system. “The air is completely recirculated six times an hour, and we have never had even one tiny speck of mould or …
11 July 2019 MBIE: R&D tax incentive: What’s eligible and how to claim
NZ Tax Credit for Research & Design uses designing to meet Passive House energy standard as an example of something that is known “and there is no scientific or technological uncertainty in” designing to meet the standard. “Case Study R&D eligibility” “Example ineligible R&D based on existing knowledge Mike and Fulia design and build houses. In response to market demand, …
Waikato (Taupiri) expoHaus is up for sale!
Announced in the eHaus winter 2019 newsletter: “We noted, with interest, the Waikato expoHaus today registered 19.5 degrees inside as the staff arrived for work, with an outside temperature of just 4 degrees. There was also no heating used over night! We get excited imagining when PassivHaus becomes the NZ minimum code, allowing all Kiwis to thrive in warm, healthy …
08 July 2019 Stuff’s Ellen O’Dwyer: Cold and ill but bill puts heat pump off limits
-3C – barely insulated house and no heating. The cost of electricity and line charges in that area is wild but so is running a unflued portable propane heater inside your home. “The house has a heat pump, but Jack and Sylvia, both 82 years old, can’t afford to use it.” “In May, the cost for their lines exceeded the …
4 July 2019 NZ Herald: What it’s like living in a home with no insulation: Condensation, mould and large power bills
“Six months ago I moved house and didn’t think too much about the state of insulation and heating in our new rental home. It was the middle of summer in humid Auckland and the 1950’s weatherboard house seemed to retain heat well. The landlord enthusiastically pointed out the heat pump – while only briefly mentioning there was no insulation as …
02 July 2019 Scoop: Doctors welcome rules making insulation the norm in rentals
“Installing insulation in a house can have a 6:1 cost benefit ratio for the very young and the very old – these people are our most vulnerable, and they spend the most time indoors,” said Dr Jeff Brown, NZ President of the RACP and a paediatrician at Palmerston North Hospital. “I see young children ending up in hospital suffering from …