What is a Passive House?

A Passive House is designed to provide an optimal warm and healthy environment for those who live and work inside, whilst consuming very little energy.

Designing a warm and healthy Passive House is not guess work. Thorough and detailed analysis using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) to model all the different components and the ways they interact with each other, thus accurately predicting overall building performance. This is done while a home is still being designed.+

A Certified Passive House uses no more than 15 kWh/m2a per year* to maintain a minimum indoor temperature of 20°C while a conventional NZ Standard Building Code house may require approx. 120 kWh/m2a to achieve similar thermal comfort. The savings and performance last the lifetime of the house.

+Passive House: Homes Where People Thrive. A Guide for People Planning to Build a New home. PHINZ

*Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Passive Houses In New Zealand. PHINZ