Passive Homes
Designing a
high-performance home New Zealand home buyers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of a well-designed, wellconstructed home.
With the influx of ex-pats returning home from overseas there has been a surge in demand for homes that perform better than what we have been putting up with. More consistent, even temperatures, eradication of condensation issues, improved indoor air quality with fresh, filtered air, and elimination of cold spots or draughts can really make our homes and buildings more comfortable, healthy and enjoyable places to be. Change is coming. Amongst the Climate Change Commission recommendations to Government is the advice that newly built homes should be 35 percent more energy efficient compared to today’s performance.
The Government is already consulting industry leaders on increasing minimum levels of insulation in roofs, windows, walls and floors to keep people warm, dry and healthy and to make sure that energy is being used efficiently. This will affect both insulation and window joinery, and it is likely that increased ventilation requirements will come soon after. It would be smart to front foot these changes by improving the performance of your home or commercial project so you can start enjoying the benefits now. The foundations of a highperformance home are form, insulation, heating, ventilation, airtightness, good design and details. These all need to work together harmoniously to be effective. Homeowners are often confused by advice from single product providers who don’t always explain how the different elements all interact. To create a high performing home, you need the full picture so the individual
components fit and work together, not against each other. Create a high performing thermal envelope One of the key elements of a higher performing home is its thermal envelope, the heart of an energy efficient, sustainable, healthy home. High levels of insulation help prevent energy loss and reduce the heating and cooling needs of a building. The thermal envelope incorporates the roof, walls, windows, and underfloor or concrete slab. An airtightness barrier minimises the uncontrolled movement of air through wall and roof constructions, ensuring thermal insulation performance.
Couple this with thermally broken, double or triple glazed windows and doors, and your thermal envelope is complete. Add in high-performance heat recovery ventilation systems To keep the air in your home fresh, a balanced ventilation system is needed to duct stale moist air out of a home and, at the same rate, replace it with fresh, filtered air. European heat-recovery systems capture heat from the exhaust air and use it to pre-heat the incoming fresh air in winter, while summer mode assists with dumping excess energy by bypassing the heat exchanger. Of course, you can open your windows and doors but to ensure Continued on page #46
The foundations of a high-performance home are form, insulation, heating, ventilation, airtightness, good design and details. These all need to work together harmoniously to be effective.
An Enveloped recently completed high performance home.
44 | B&R
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