Affordable Designs

Prefab Passive House Designs

for standard block widths

Affordable Designs for Prefab Passive Houses

At Sunpath, we believe that everyone deserves the health, comfort, and energy efficiency of Passive House living — not just those with custom-designed homes.

That’s why we’ve developed a growing range of standard Passive House designs tailored for typical Victorian site sizes, including 12m and 15m-wide suburban blocks.

For rural and regional properties, we also offer a series of pavilion-style Passive Houses — ideal for acreage sites and off-grid living.

In all cases, we prioritise practicality, thermal comfort, and long-term value, while streamlining the process for our clients.

Working in close collaboration with a specialist SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels) prefabrication company, we’ve created a library of pre-designed, Passive House-certifiable homes that are compact, efficient, and cost-effective.

These homes use factory-built, airtight, and thermally efficient panels to ensure high-quality construction and rapid assembly. The same designs can also be adapted for CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber) systems or even conventional timber-framed construction, depending on project needs.

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Our designs have been carefully modularised to align with standard panel dimensions and stud sizes, making them cost-effective, simple to manufacture, and easy to transport. This approach reduces construction waste, improves on-site efficiency, and allows greater flexibility across different prefabrication methods. Raised timber floors, slabs, or insulated screed floors can all be integrated depending on site conditions and client preference.

Glazing openings are designed to suit standardised modules that fit within shipping containers, reducing the cost and complexity of sourcing high-performance double or triple glazing. These small efficiencies add up — helping us deliver Passive House quality at a more accessible price point. 

We maintain a growing library of previously designed and built homes, complete with documentation that can be readily adapted to suit new sites. If clients choose one of these ready-made plans, we’re able to offer reduced design fees, faster project timelines, and improved cost certainty — often resulting in lower overall construction costs.

These homes can be delivered either through a full traditional contract with any registered builder with a kit of parts supplied by SIPs/CLT manufacturers and a glazing supplier; or as a complete, locked-up shell by our partner builder and SIPs manufacturer— giving owner-builders the flexibility to complete their fitout while enjoying a certified Passive House envelope from day one. This makes Passive House quality more achievable for a wider range of families.

Sustainability Features in these Prefab Projects

Ground Floor SIPs panels installed on bearers
The construction begins with a timber substructure to support the prefabricated SIPs floor panels. This raised platform allows for continuous underfloor insulation and services in line with Passive House principles
Thermal bridge free construction of the screed slab
perimeter insulation and thermal bridge mitigation in a ground floor screed slab
Ground floor SIPs wall panels during installation
Wall panels arrive on-site pre-cut to sizes and openings and are quickly assembled. Their interlocking joints help achieve the airtightness required for Passive House certification.
SIPs wall plate assembly
Builders installing the structural top plate in a SIPs wall panel in preparation for the first floor to be laid
Roof panels ready for crane positioning and installation
The SIPs roof panels arrive on site on a flat bed truck pre-cut to length
Membranes installed and airtightness measures underway
With the walls and roof installed, the SIPs structure creates a continuous thermal and airtight envelope. Openings for windows and doors are foam filled and taped for air sealing.
Thermal Bridge Free Construction
Extra Insulation overlaps at perimeters to minimise continuity of conductive materials
Officially Airtight 0.4 Air Changes per Hour
The builder's attention to detail and good design of SIPs panels ensures a favourable result better than 0.6 ACH at 50 pa in the blower door test
All-Electric and Highly-Efficient
Heat Pump Hot Water and Heat Recovery Ventilation Systems
Carbon Positive Passive House Plus Certified
The houses can be Carbon Positive and generate more power than they consume annually. Owners have very low power bills and comfort all year round
Carbon neutral - Officially Certified SIPs built passive house Plus in Camberwell
The completed house is airtight and comfortable year round, with minimal costs

Step by step of a sips house being constructed

videos of a sips envelope being erected