Tag Archives: PHINZ

High-Performance Construction Details in the news

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PHINZ and Sustainable Engineering Ltd are well on the way to completion of the High-Performance Construction Details Handbook. (Download a technical draft of the handbook here. 02.06.21 The draft is no longer available as the handbook will be published soon.) Funded by The Building Research Levy, PHINZ and Sustainable Engineering, 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.

This month’s Build Magazine features an article by Jason Quinn of Sustainable Engineering and Elrond Burrell, chair of PHINZ, outlining the need for such guidance, details about the handbook, and its future uses including supporting and informing MBIE’s Building for Climate Change Programme and Building Code improvements. The article is online here: High-performance details | BRANZ Build (buildmagazine.org.nz) and you can download a PDF of it from here.

The Handbook is also featured in a second Build Magazine article, this one focusing on walls: High-performance domestic walls | BRANZ Build (buildmagazine.org.nz)

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Claiming the Passive House standard

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Within the industry and media, there are occasionally claims that buildings meet or exceed the Passive House standard simply because they might include particular features or approaches that are similar to Passive House. For example, they achieve a good air-tightness result, include insulation above the building code minimum, or use very little energy for heating. It is incorrect to claim that such a building is a Passive House unless it can be shown to be designed and constructed according to all the certification criteria.

PHINZ have taken legal advice and, based on a similar document from the UK, produced a technical briefing outlining relevant NZ law and clarifying PHINZ’s position on claims of the “Passive House Standard” and how the terms “Passive House” and Passivhaus” should be used in Aotearoa NZ.

It is free to download on the resources page.

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Te Tōpūtanga o te Whare Korou ki Aotearoa

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On Friday the 20th of March 2020, the PHINZ board gathered online with Kiharoa Milroy (Tūhoe and Ngāti Whakaue) for a small ceremony to accept the gift of a Te Reo Māori name for our organisation: Te Tōpūtanga o te Whare Korou ki Aotearoa. It was a touching ceremony and the board was very grateful to receive such a beautiful and fitting name. We feel that the name Dr. Wolfgang Fiest was first looking for back in 1991 to truly express the meaning of “Passive House” has finally been discovered.

Here is what the name Te Tōpūtanga o te Whare Korou ki Aotearoa means:


Te Tōpūtanga = The Institute (association, collective, grouping, organisation, ref)
o te Whare = of the house
Korou = energy/vitality/desire/aspiration (ref)
ki Aotearoa = of New Zealand

As one board member put it:

A wish for all of us. The healthy home that we live in will support our families to thrive, grow and prosper. Our aspiration is that it is commonplace for all of New Zealand to have this opportunity.

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Introducing the newly appointed CEO of PHINZ

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Amy Tankard, CEO of PHINZ

We are very pleased and excited to announce the appointment of Amy Tankard to the position of chief executive officer.

Amy starts in this new role at the beginning of June and will be working with the board across a number of areas to increase the profile and positive impact of PHINZ. Amy stood out from a very strong field of candidates with her long career in leadership and management positions, combined with her enthusiasm for and experience with Passive House.

Amy is a business focussed leader who is also experienced in working with membership organisations. She shares PHINZ’s values and is fully on board with PHINZ’s advocacy work to create healthy, comfortable, high-performance buildings.

If you would like to get in touch with Amy, she can be reached on ceo@passivehouse.nz

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