Passive House

As standard our projects are designed to perform as passive houses and we have successfully been through the certification process several times with Passive house Plus projects (and Premium underway).

All our practitioners are certified and experienced passive house designers and were amongst the first practitioners qualified in Australia.

For us Passivhaus is not a luxury or gimmick or status symbol it is simply common sense to design and construct our projects to the best possible standard.

The motivation is not to chase a magical number, but to create the best quality building that has minimal or no running costs and reduces the impact on the environment.

The lived experience of clients and ourselves in completed projects has proven that this is the most healthy, comfortable and energy efficient type of house possible to achieve.

Now that we design and build this way this way, we could never revert to poorly performing, uncomfortable and unhealthy conventionally constructed buildings.

More importantly, once you have experienced what it is like to live in a Passive house you will not want to never want to live in anything else. We can say this from personal experience.

The energy usage is so low that with a battery backup you can easily be free of the costs and vagaries of connections to the electricity grid. This is so important with rising energy prices and for reducing your monthly outgoings.

They are peaceful stable environments with constant filtered fresh air and extraction.
They have the right balance of natural light and shade and they are draught free and do not experience daily or seasonal temperature fluctuations. They promote calmness, relaxation and comfort no matter the weather.

Classic: Classic Passive House projects are the easiest to achieve once airtightness, total energy use, and heating and cooling demands are met.

Plus: Passive House Plus projects are essentially energy neutral, minimizing consumption and generating as much renewable energy annually as the building uses. This calculation considers losses through storage, generation, and transmission of energy.

Premium: Premium projects surpass Plus and aim to further reduce consumption and generate enough renewable energy annually to balance the building and occupants’ needs.

Low Energy Buildings: This is a standard for energy efficiency and airtightness, and all our projects should naturally achieve this standard.

Enerphit: Enerphit is a standard for retrofitting existing buildings and is not typically relevant to our projects.

Health: Fresh, clean, filtered air is provided to all rooms year-round, minimizing allergens, dust, and mould, promoting health and well-being.

Comfort: Consistent comfortable temperatures are maintained in each room throughout the year, eliminating hot or cold spots and creating a relaxed, pleasant ambiance.

Resilience: Passive Houses are well-built and stable, suitable for off-grid solutions. They retain comfortable temperatures longer during extreme conditions or power outages.

Affordability: Running costs can be up to 90% lower than conventional buildings, essential in times of rising energy and financing expenses.

Simplicity: Careful design and quality construction ensure that Passive Houses stay cool in summer and warm in winter with minimal operation or control systems. Orientation, insulation, airtightness, glazing, and shading are optimized for efficiency.

Peace and Quiet: Exceptional insulation, airtightness, and quality glazing minimize external noise, creating a calm, peaceful environment.

Quality: Passive House projects demand detailed planning and lend themselves to prefabrication and simplicity, resulting in higher construction quality and durability compared to conventional buildings.

Value: Investing in a Passive House is an investment in quality, with growing market awareness leading to more financing options and potential long-term property value increases due to lower running costs.