Passive House is an international high-performance building standard designed to drastically reduce heating and cooling energy consumption.
We design our passive house projects for construction using engineered timber and prefabrication. Learn more about these processes here: Â
Why build a Passive House?
We believe it is the best possible standard of building for our clients to invest in and all our practitioners are certified and experienced in delivering certified Passive House Projects. Â
Why Choose Passive House?
Healthier Living – Enjoy fresh, filtered air year-round, reducing dust, mould, and allergens.
Exceptional Comfort – Consistent indoor temperatures in every room, all year round.
Ultra-Low Running Costs – Cut energy bills by up to 90% through efficient design.
Quiet and Peaceful – Superior insulation and glazing reduce external noise dramatically.
Built to Last – High construction standards ensure durability and long-term performance.
Simple and Smart – Designed to stay warm in winter and cool in summer with minimal effort.
Future-Ready – Performs well during heatwaves or power outages; ideal for off-grid living.
High Quality Assurance – Proven results backed by decades of rigorous testing and monitoring.
Strong Value – Long-term savings and growing market demand enhance resale potential.
we look forward to hearing from you
start the conversation
Passive House explained in 3 minutes
Click to watch the videoÂ
How to achieve the Standard
There are 5 core requirements to achieve the Passive house Standard:Â
1. Insulation
Ensure continuous high-level insulation across the building envelope.
2. Thermal Bridge Free Construction
Carefully plan junctions and connections to prevent heat and cold transfer.
3. Glazing
Use high-performance insulated glazing units with airtight seals and proper orientation and shading to optimize solar gain.
4. Airtightness
Maintain effective airtightness to minimize heat loss and drafts.
5. Heat Recovery Ventilation
Employ energy-efficient fan-based heat exchanger ventilation systems for fresh, filtered healthy indoor air and minimal energy waste.
Two additional recommended measures to achieve Passive House Plus:Â
6. Shading
Fixed & operable external shading to prevent overheating on glazing facing West, North & East.
7. Renewables
Provide sufficient renewable generation capacity such as Solar PV to ensure the house is Carbon Neutral or Carbon Positive allowing it to be off-grid.
start your concept designs
Click here to chat
Criteria for Certification
To achieve internationally recognised Passive House Institute certification by an independent certifier; a building must meet specific criteria:
Space Heating: Keep heating and cooling energy consumption below 15 kWh per square meter annually.
Peak Heating Loads: Limit peak heating loads to under 10 W per square meter.
Cooling and Dehumidification: Ensure cooling and dehumidification energy use is less than 15 kWh per square meter annually.
Airtightness: Conduct tests to show less than 0.64 air changes per hour at 50 pascals of pressure.
Primary Energy: Total energy consumption for heating, cooling, hot water, and appliances must meet specified limits based on the building’s size.
start your passive house
Click here to contact us
Categories of Passive Houses
Classic:Â Classic Passive House projects are the easiest to achieve once airtightness, total energy use, and heating and cooling demands are met.
Plus:Â 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:Â This is a standard for energy efficiency and airtightness, and all our projects should naturally achieve this standard.
Enerphit:Â Enerphit is a standard for retrofitting existing buildings and is not typically relevant to our projects.
arrange a consultation
Click here to call
Benefits of Passive Houses
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.
arrange a consultation
Click here to call
The Passive House Difference
Proven by Practice and Lived Experience
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.
arrange a consultation
Click here to call
Recent Passive House Projects
Leongatha Winery Passive House Off-Grid
Cross Laminated Timber Farmhouse
Camberwell Passive House Plus Certified
Future Proofed Retirement Living
McKinnon Passive House Plus
Certified PH+ in Prefab SIPs Panels
Albert Park – New Passive House PlusÂ
Prefab Glulam Timber Frame with Structural Insulated Panels
Kyneton – Certified Passive House PlusÂ
Off-Grid Tree Change Retirement Residence
Geelong West – Heritage House
Enerphit Passive House Extension and Renovations
Affordable Passive House Designs
Prefab Homes for Standard Sites
Our Ethos
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.