Short stays in Passive House homes in Aotearoa New Zealand Feel it to believe it

20 January 2025 by Rachel Rose

I’ve been describing the features and benefits of Passive House buildings for years but even my best words can’t convey as much as directly experiencing it with all your senses. The international Passive House Open Days are a great chance to have a first look but an overnight stay would be a far more complete experience. What vast majority of owners of Passive House homes in New Zealand signed up to build one without having the benefit of that experience?

I did some research on what options exist for paid stays in Passive House accommodation and was sorry to not come up with much. The long term option is a studio apartment in Wellington. It’s on the ground floor of Cheshire, a four level home on a tight hillside site in Wilton and was purpose built for paying guests.

I hoped that guests were having revelatory experiences about the indoor air quality and comfortable temperatures. But of the reviews I scanned, only a couple mentioned Passive House specifically (“The passive house ness [sic] was great to experience too, place was so quiet inside and warm even after being out all day“). A few others mentioned the quiet and warmth … but many more praised the high standard of cleanliness or moaned about the narrow, steep roads and tight driveway access (welcome to Wellington folks, it’s part of the experience).

The Hiberna Strawbale House (currently for sale, listed here) is for now hosting guests (AirBnB, booking.com) and co-owner Jessica Eyers tells a similar tale. New Zealand guests tend to be more focused on amenities and location than environmentally friendly design and certified Passive House performance. Overseas guests are more likely to be interested in these features.

And it seems the longer guests stay, the more they understand and their enthusiasm grows. Cheshire homeowner Jesse Whitham says long stay guests have loved the quiet and the warmth—especially in the context of a Wellington winter. “It’s always a shock opening the door to find it’s not so nice and warm outside—it still gets me to this day,” he says. He’s rented out his own home upstairs too when he’s been travelling and those reviews have been stellar.

George House in Wanaka, one of New Zealand’s earliest Passive Houses, was initially available for booking on AirBnB and that climate would also show off the thermal comfort Passive House delivers.

I’ve now spent 18 months in my own Passive House home and my good fortune is reinforced whenever I stay elsewhere. I was acutely uncomfortable with the terrible ventilation in a motel unit recently; it was probably just as well I wasn’t travelling with my CO2 monitor. Fresh air isn’t a problem at my in-laws, where the windows are always wide open even mid-winter, but comfortable indoor temperatures certainly can’t be relied on.

I’d love the opportunity to stay in other Passive House buildings when travelling. I have wondered about Passive House owners forming a loose collective for the purpose of house swaps!

Big thanks need to go to those homeowners who throw open their doors on International Open Days and who say yes every time their builder wants to guide prospective clients through. These generous actions create more understanding of and demand for better homes.

Cheshire studio on AirBnB

Hiberna Strawbale House on AirBnB and booking.com

 

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