Continuous insulation
A thick, unbroken blanket of insulation wraps the whole home, floor, walls and roof, so warmth has nowhere easy to escape.
The standard, explained simply
Passive House is the world's leading standard for comfort and energy efficiency, and the benchmark we build to.
Rather than heating and cooling a home hard to fight the climate, a Passive House is designed so it barely needs to. A highly insulated, airtight structure keeps the warmth you have already paid for inside, while a quiet ventilation system continuously delivers fresh, filtered air. The result is a home that stays close to a comfortable 20 to 22°C all year, with no cold corners, no draughts and no condensation.
As an energy-efficient home builder in Nelson Tasman, we design and build to these principles on the great majority of our homes, tuned to the local climate and to how each family actually lives. Whether you want to meet the full standard or simply build a far better, healthier home than the Building Code requires, we will show you exactly what each step buys you.
How it works
Six principles working together as one system.
Airtight construction
A carefully sealed building envelope stops draughts and uncontrolled heat loss, the single biggest weakness of a conventional New Zealand home.
Thermal-bridge-free detailing
We design out the hidden "cold bridges" where heat sneaks through the structure, preventing the cold spots that lead to mould and condensation.
High-performance windows
Thermally broken, double or triple glazing keeps the glass warm to the touch in winter and shades out unwanted summer heat.
Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
A whole-home system delivers constant fresh, filtered air while reclaiming the warmth from the air it replaces, comfort without ever opening a window.
Orientation & passive solar
We position living spaces and glazing to capture the winter sun and exclude the summer sun, free warmth and light, designed in from the first sketch.
The difference, in numbers
A home that looks after the people inside it, and your wallet.
- up to 90% less energy needed for heating versus a typical new build
- 20 to 22°C stable, even temperature in every room, all year round
- 24/7 fresh, filtered air, a real benefit for allergies and asthma
- < 0.6 air changes per hour airtightness target at the full standard
Indicative figures for the Passive Homes we build. Actual performance is modelled for your specific design, site and budget.
Why it matters
Comfort you feel, health you can measure, savings that compound.
Genuinely comfortable
No cold rooms, no draughts, no waking up to a freezing house. Just a quiet, even warmth from the front door to the furthest bedroom, the kind of comfort you stop noticing because it is simply always there.
Healthier to live in
Continuous filtered ventilation and the absence of damp and mould make a real difference for families, and especially for anyone with asthma or allergies. A dry, fresh home is a healthier home.
Cheaper over a lifetime
A high-performance home costs more to build, but dramatically less to run. As energy prices rise, those low running costs help pay down your mortgage, so over the life of the home, it works out cheaper.
How we deliver the performance
Performance is engineered in, then proven on site.
High performance is not an upgrade you bolt on at the end. It is designed from the first sketch and protected through every stage of the build, with the budget visible to you the whole way.
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01
Model first
We model your design's energy performance early, so you can see the comfort and running-cost payback of each decision before a nail is driven.
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02
Detail with care
Our team and designers resolve insulation, airtightness and thermal-bridge details on paper, where changes cost nothing.
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03
Build airtight
Our builders are trained in the airtight, well-insulated methods that separate a high-performance home from an ordinary one.
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04
Verify & hand over
Where appropriate we test airtightness and commission the ventilation, so you move into a home that performs exactly as promised.
Tested, not assumed
We prove the performance before we hand you the keys
Every Passive home we build is pressure-tested with a blower-door test before handover. It measures exactly how airtight the building is, in air changes per hour, against the target the design was engineered to hit. It is the difference between a home we say performs and a home we can show performs. Daryl runs the test himself, because the number on that gauge is what proves your home will stay warm, quiet, and low-cost to run for its whole life.
Backed by the standards that matter
Substance over badges.
We build to Passive House Institute of New Zealand (PHINZ) principles, construct with the high-performance Formance structural insulated panel system, and back every home with the Master Build and Halo 10-year guarantees. No badges we have not earned, just homes that perform.
Straight talk
We build to the standard, not for a plaque on the wall.
Formal Passive House certification is an excellent process, but it adds significant cost for what is, in the end, a certificate. In our experience most homeowners would rather invest that money in the home itself, better glazing, better detailing, a better kitchen.
So we build to Passive House principles and standards without charging you for the certification paperwork, and we are completely open about where your home lands. You get the comfort, health and running-cost benefits that matter, honestly, and with full transparency. If you do want full certification, we can absolutely deliver it.
Good questions
Passive Homes, answered.
What is a Passive Home?
A home designed so it barely needs heating or cooling. A highly insulated, airtight structure keeps the warmth inside while a quiet ventilation system continuously delivers fresh, filtered air, so it stays close to a comfortable 20 to 22°C all year, with no cold corners, no draughts and no condensation.
Do I have to build to the full standard?
No. Whether you want to meet the full standard or simply build a far better, healthier home than the Building Code requires, we will show you exactly what each step buys you.
Is a Passive Home expensive to run?
The opposite. The Passive Homes we build need up to 90 percent less energy for heating than a typical new build, and those low running costs compound over the life of the home, so it works out cheaper.
Do I need formal Passive House certification?
Certification is an excellent process, but it adds significant cost for what is, in the end, a certificate. We build to Passive House principles without charging you for the certification paperwork, and we are completely open about where your home lands. If you do want full certification, we can absolutely deliver it.
How do you prove the performance?
Performance is engineered in, then proven on site. We model your design's energy performance early, resolve the details on paper, build with trained crews, and where appropriate we test airtightness and commission the ventilation so you move into a home that performs exactly as promised.
Build the warmest, healthiest home of your life.
Tell us about your site and how you want to live. We will show you exactly what a Passive Home means for your comfort, your health and your running costs.
Start the conversation