Watch Us Build a Passive House in New Zealand - Episode 1

Follow the crew at Compound as they build an energy efficient home to passive house principles. In this 5 part series we will go into minute detail on what it takes to build a house like this in New Zealand.
Treated Floor Area : 146.9m2
Heating Demand kWh (m2a) : 26
Heating Load W/m2 : 14
Frequency of overheating (+25 'c) % : 1
In this first episode we start from the ground up. We talk about the considerations needed during the planning and design stage and we are introduced to the first principle of passive house which is thermal bridge free construction. We like to go into detail about some of the unique and inovative details in the construction and we lay bare the realities of trying to build this type of house in the New Zealand South Island.
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[@joelcannan7686]

Thanks for posting this. It's rare to see people really breaking down different elements being used/why they're being used.

[@compound__]

Hey Joel, no worries. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@canonurdogan]

That is an impressive and inspiring approach to a passive house project. You have made your point very clear. Respect. I have been considering how to manage my house plans in passive way and costs are frieghtining. Thanks for the relief of my worries. Even if I can not afford the standards, I can still get alot.

[@willtaucher9049]

Great video guys! Really interesting to see how you've managed to build efficiently in an extreme climate while also keeping to a budget

[@compound__]

Thank you Will! Glad you enjoyed the first episode, looking forward to some longer days with the sun keeping us warm on site.

[@blund8874]

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[@sandyatkins4770]

Well done. Very interesting!!

[@compound__]

Thanks Sandy, be sure to follow along and watch the rest of the series.

[@liamedwards6561]

Awesome to see guys. 👊🏼

[@compound__]

Thanks Liam, Appreciate it!

[@hendrikx1991]

Great video, its hard to achieve passive house when you dont have the orientation, but its still verry energy efficient. Great to see builders taking the step to a better housing future.

[@compound__]

Thanks Nicky. It has been a fantastic build :)

[@mikehtims]

Magnificent video, great content, and easy to watch. Throughly enjoyable. Well done. Brilliant

[@Seccors1]

Good work Josh! Great touch even with the difficulty of the site!

[@compound__]

Thanks mate!

[@jamieoconnor4342]

Wicked vid fully agree our build standards are 💩 keep up the good content!

[@teamgreenarchitects7734]

Great work guys!

[@joshgelling7435]

Wicked effort lad, the government an industry leaders need to get up to speed and be more onboard with passive constructions being a way of the future. Than overall costing will be less inflated an make for some wicked new builds in the future. With this housing shortage topped with over inflated house price sales means fewer strive for even partal passive properties. Keep up the good efforts ✌

[@compound__]

Awesome Josh. Our thoughts exactly, we look forward to this construction becoming less of a minority in the industry. Thanks.

[@MrRENZsalas]

Do Homestar and NZGBC qualify as passive house compliant?

[@Krazie-Ivan]

fighting against orientation is a huge ask (beautiful view tho!), so i'm really interested to see all the other ideas/methods you guys put into use in attempt to claw performance back. already inspired to take a 2nd look at my footing plans to find a way to break the thermal bridge up through the walls... would like to stick with FastFoot & monopour, so might be a task for an engineer.

[@compound__]

Hey Krazie, thanks for the comment. Next episode is dropping soon which will showcase all of this! Awesome, we have never seen the fastfoot monopoour before. There is always a solution, enjoy the process :)

[@camera_dept]

Rad! Into this series! Do some more on future builds?

[@CryptikStudios]

The Episode 1 probably gives that away

[@compound__]

Hey Ethan, we hope to continue our videos on future builds.

[@fredwitting655]

Very clear explanation of why and great method closeup. Congratulations to the team. One question you repeat zero thermal bridge. But isn’t your rebar from footings going into the wall and connects to the slab?

[@compound__]

Hi Fred! You are correct. The goal is to be completely thermal bridge free. These point bridges are two metres underground in a insulated nudura block, so they do not have a large impact.

[@julianroszka9392]

amazing !!

[@jackgibbons6013]

How much is was the cost difference between the Nudura wall assembly vs the "traditional"* wall assembly? I presume you guys costed continuing with the Nudura all the way up? I'm also in the southern lakes area, Manapouri, which could perhaps have cheaper concrete than the queenstown area? not sure though. The ICF walls seem like much simpler assemblies with a lot less places for mistakes to be made. *looks like LVL framing which is not completely standard / the cheapest either. oh and awesome work, thanks for sharing. It seems surprisingly rare to find builders in NZ that are open and willing to build to far higher standards. Plenty of naysayers with no willingness to make better buildings.

[@compound__]

Hi Jack, the Nudura wall is a great product and is more expensive than LVL framing. On this project, the nudura walls are also retaining the hillside. If we were to start again we probably would have used it in more areas that just the two walls because it is was great for speeding up the schedule.

[@lynettewharerau1182]

Ngā mihi mahana!! Thank you so much for this vid that gives effect to #passivehousing thinking in action. 😂 spoiler alert!! What components of 5-passive housing did your build not meet?

[@MrScandiLeon]

Ich habe in Deutschland vor 20 Jahren Passivhäuser geplant und gebaut! Mit besten Ergebnissen! Eines dieser Passivhäuser mit 170 m2 liegt bei unter 200 Euro Kosten für Heizung und Warmwasser im Jahr!

[@gregj3515]

Interesting that kiwi builders can manage this alongside tough earthquake regulations. Here in Australia mass built homes are thermally bankrupt...

[@mauiahu6689]

Is this a cheap way or just an example of a way to do it.

[@Matt-zl1jv]

kia ora whanau aroha ki nga tāngata mahi

[@akburwell]

Perhaps a comment prior to how you've sorted the revegetation but... Are you considering any landscaping to provide summer shade and winter light? Deciduous trees provide some nice privacy and shade; view be damned!

[@compound__]

Hi Adam, Landscaping has not been considered in the design for summer shading and winter light. The building design covers all of shading and winter light requirements. This is calculated using PHPP (Passive House Planning Package) with our Passive House Design Consultant. Landscaping will play an important roll in the local eco-system. We plan to only use New Zealand native flora to attract and serve the local fauna. e.g local native Tui birds.

[@akburwell]

@@compound__ Thanks for the prompt and thoughtful response. As a recent immigrant from the States to Nelson, I'm looking forward to bringing passive homes to the forefront up here. Thanks for sharing your journey as it's helpful for me to see where NZ is at and where it's going.

[@jonnypennell2428]

Is this wanaka area?

[@blomit]

Sorry maybe Google is wrong but are you saying an annual high of 21 and a low of -3 is extreme?

[@drewatkins621]

Hi Blomit, your data is perhaps the high and low for the past 7 days? Queenstown is a ski resort town, which has snow on the roads in winter and a very dry hot summer - Typically getting up to 35 degrees. I think the lowest recorded day in our lifetime was -12 degrees. This is considered an extreme climate in New Zealand.

[@blomit]

@@drewatkins621 yep that makes more sense. Google be lying 😊. Or maybe showing average highs and lows

[@Matt-zl1jv]

im mai i taranaki