PASSIVE HOUSE
 
The Passive House Institute NZ (PHINZ) works to increase awareness of the benefits and opportunities of energy efficient buildings based on the Passive House Standard.

The Passive House movement has a long international history, going back to traditional Chinese and Scandinavian buildings, innovative designs in the US and Canada in the 1970s, European buildings in the 1980s, and Germany in the 1990s with the founding of Passivhaus Institute.

Formal Passive House certification is granted after an independent verification process by an accredited Passive House Certifier. This process assesses the home’s design and construction against specific targets

Key elements include:

• Airtightness

• Energy efficiency for heating and cooling

• Insulation for consistent comfortable temperatures

• High-performance windows and doors

• Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery

• Moisture protection• Minimising or eliminating thermal bridges

• Orientation and shading – preventing overheating

• Thermal mass

• Thermal properties of materials, products, components and constructions 

• Renewable energy
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Energy modelling is at the heart of the Passive House design and construction process.  Designers use the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) software to model the relevant components of the building and how they interact with each other, predicting the overall performance of the home, and identifying any problems so that changes can be made at the design stage. Passive House designers work with 19 different climate zones to take into account NZ’s climatic diversity.

Passive House Standards also include a certification process for retrofitting existing buildings (EnerPHit).
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