Tag Archives: passive house

Passive House Social Housing gets going in Aotearoa

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courtesy of Kāinga Ora

A Kāinga Ora social housing project in Māngere, Auckland has passed pre-construction review and is now on track to become the first central government funded Passive House social housing in Australasia. Construction on the 3 level, 18 unit “Bader Ventura” project is due to start by the end of this year, and to be completed by mid-2023. There are currently also another seven Kāinga Ora Passive House projects in the design phase, all 3 level walk-ups in Auckland. 

PHINZ CEO Amy Tankard paid tribute to Kāinga Ora’s vision in adopting the Passive House standard for this development.

“It’s fantastic that Kāinga Ora is taking the lead in starting to build housing that will not only keep occupants warm, dry and healthy, with minimal power bills, but also takes a big step towards meeting MBIE’s Building for Climate Change proposed 2035 targets. 

Kāinga Ora is the main housing provider in Aotearoa New Zealand, and therefore this commitment has massive implications for the future of building here. Bader Ventura will demonstrate that it is achievable to build to Passive House standard at scale. It will give certainty to suppliers and other Passive House industry professionals, and widen the knowledge base and awareness of Passive House”

Key partners on the project include PHINZ members 

Peddlethorp – Architects

Oculus – Passive House lead and facade engineer

Sustainable Engineering – independent certifier

Congratulations to all who have progressed the project to this point. We will be following with interest!

You can read more here:

New Mangere development promises tiny carbon footprint and power bills :: Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities (kaingaora.govt.nz)

https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/latest/126303137/heating-for-1-a-day-kainga-oras-first-passivedesigned-social-housing-block-is-a-blueprint

Kāinga Ora announces first Passive House development | Architecture Now

Peddlethorp and Kāinga Ora celebrate first Passive House public housing development | Scoop News

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Certified Passive House projects in Aotearoa

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The number of certified Passive House projects is growing fast in Aotearoa NZ. And with Passive House being in the media more frequently, PHINZ is often asked how many Passive House projects there are in Aotearoa NZ.

Unfortunately, this question does not have a straightforward answer.

Passive House certification is an independent process undertaken by an accredited Passive House certifier and PHINZ, as a charity, has no role in certifying projects. This also means we don’t keep a complete list of all certified projects.

Many certified Passive House projects get submitted to the international Passive House database, however, this is voluntary and therefore not comprehensive. There are currently (as of 07 September 2021) a total of 56 certified Passive House projects in Aotearoa NZ listed on the database. These include:

  • 47 certified Passive House Classic dwelling units made up of 27 certified projects as some are multi-unit.
  • 8 certified Passive House Plus projects
  • 1 certified Passive House Premium project

Current figures can be found on the international Passive House database using the advanced search function.

As noted, there may be other Passive House projects not on the database.

Additionally, one of our members, Sustainable Engineering, maintains a map of certified projects in Aotearoa NZ and Australia.

We are aware of many more projects being developed that are targeting Passive House, not least the exciting project announced by Kāinga Ora today and in the news here also.

PHINZ is currently developing a project directory for our website. This will showcase Passive House projects in Aotearoa NZ and the builders, designers and component suppliers involved.

There are also number of Passive House projects showcased on the PHINZ youtube channel – check them out and subscribe to see more in the future!

Please note that Passive House is an as-built building standard and is protected by consumer law. Projects that do not meet the standard cannot be referred to as “Passive House” regardless of what they might claim. For more details on this please see our article on Claiming the Passive House standard.

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South Pacific Passive House Conference 2021

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The SPPHC21 is set for November 25-27th at Auckland’s AUT. Hosted in cooperation with APHA and AUT this year’s theme is Our Common Future with topics including Passive House social housing and intergenerational wellbeing. Registrations are open now – get in quick as numbers are limited and Early Bird rates end August 31st. For more info and registration go to our upcoming events conference page

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Passive House: Homes Where People Thrive

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We are very pleased to announce our new “brochure” – Passive House: Homes Where People Thrive.

This is an accessible guide for people planning to build a new home – learn all about the health, comfort and quality benefits of a Passive House. This concise guide also has the details of what sets Passive House apart, the stages of a Passive House project and much more.

Free as a PDF from the downloads page.

Passive House: Homes Where People Thrive (Cover)
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Launched: High-Performance Construction Details Handbook

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At the Passive House Hui yesterday (13 June 2021), the High-Performance Construction Details handbook was launched.

You can head over to the HPCD page and download a free copy of the PDF handbook and a copy of all the CAD details.

The handbook will be a valuable resource for design and construction professionals, providing practical tools to exceed Building Code thermal performance minimums. It will also provide consenting officials with a reference when presented with high-performance Alternative Solutions.

The handbook was funded from the Building Research Levy and in-kind by Sustainable Engineering, PHINZ and Resilienz.

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SPPHC21 – Call for Abstracts

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Passive House – Our Common Future

The South Pacific Passive House Conference will be held at AUT, Auckland, in November 2021

Conference Topics

  1. Passive House social housing
  2. Proven outcomes of Passive House projects
  3. Intergenerational well­ being and Passive House

We would like to see talks addressing these topics, but are open to all research on Passive House matters relevant for people in the South Pacific.

How to submit

  • Submissions close 30 June 2021 14 July 2021 (extended)
  • Abstracts must be a maximum of 2 pages, submitted in pdf format.
  • Email admin@passivehouse.nz for access to the submission platform
  • Submissions will be peer-reviewed, with speakers notified from August 2021

Please Note:

  • All presentations will be in person (COVID conditions dependent) in Auckland. Please confirm you are able to do this in your abstract submission.
  • All presentations will be filmed
  • All presentation slides will be published online

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Earth Day 2021

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Earth Day 2021 is on April 22nd! Restoring Our Earth is bigger than one solution or one country’s efforts. We must come together as a global community to make changes, and more importantly make them quickly. Recognising the crucial role that maximising the efficiency of the resources we already have is pivotal: EFFICIENCY is our FIRST renewable resource. Find out all about the Passive House Efficiency First Campaign here

#passivehouse #Passivhaus #efficiencyfirst #RestoreOurEarth #EarthDay

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Two Exciting New Developments

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Two exciting new developments are in the pipeline, advocating for Passive House to provide healthy and energy efficient new homes.

1. Bushland Park

Bushland Park near Christchurch offers houses that have already been designed to target Passive House certification. The project has been designed by certified Passive House designer Karen Manson, of PHINZ member Meta Architects, and will be built by certified Passive House tradesperson, Peter Bielski of PHINZ member Ethos Homes. This is a fantastic opportunity to purchase your very own Passive House.

Please visit the website Bushland Park for more information.

2. Greenwood Lane

Bellbird Developments, started by Vicki Spearing in 2019, will be providing owners with incentives for building energy efficient homes at Greenwood Lane. Up to $20,000 in cash back incentives are available for those building beyond Building Code and meeting specific Heating Demand figures and airtightness testing results.

Anyone building at Greenwood Lane will be required to model their design with an approved Passive House designer and will help to cover these costs. They will also contribute towards the cost of Passive House certification. Not surprisingly, all sections are already sold!

More information is available on the website: bellbirddevelopments.co.nz

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