We have broken down the type of home achieved, using the above principles, into three levels to explain the differing options available dependent upon your unique set of circumstances.  This includes your budget, your site constraints, and your family’s priorities.

These are:

More detail on each level is found below.  

The ultimate high performing home is a ‘Certified Passive House’.  This home has been tested, measured and internationally certified to perform thermally at an extremely high level with known (but little to no) heating and cooling requirements. Cost or design may make this ultimate level prohibitive for some but aiming for the best performance level you can achieve within your personal constraints is always recommended. 

You can still achieve a high performing home, much higher than a minimum build code-built house through employing the same principles.  The benefits will be minimal if, for example, you only tackle insulation levels or windows alone.  The greatest benefits exist when all the above principles, particularly, insulation, air tightness and the MHRV, are addressed as part of a design build package.

Whatever your budget, or design demands, the key is letting your team of builder and designer know your budget, or design demands, so we can work with this knowledge to get you the best performing home for your unique set of circumstances.  House size, simplicity of design, or alternative hardware are a few of the options to consider.

It is important to have the builder and designer involved right from the start.  Your engagement with this level of expertise will ensure you get the performance you are aiming for and that thermal integrity is not compromised through lack of understanding or inexperience in this level of construction.

We do recommend PHPP testing even if you do not intend to achieve a Certified Passive House.  

PHPP (Passive House Planning Package) provides a scientific analysis of how your house will perform at the design stage, including the heating/cooling demands.  This allows any tweaking to the design to be made to meet your criteria (desired thermal performance) before the build starts and changes can no longer be made.  

It is completed by a specialist PHPP adviser who will provide a report stating what your heating and cooling loads will be.  It will tell you if your house will overheat or be too cold and suggest areas of the design that could produce a better outcome.  It enables an informed decision to be made and consideration of any additional costs compared to the benefits it may provide.  For example, your PHPP calculations may reveal that you need to spend an additional $40k and go to timber windows in order to achieve the same criteria as that of certified passive house rather than being just below it.  This is important if you are aiming for a specific performance level, or you would like the confidence of tangible data showing that the additional investment will provide significant benefit.

The cost to undertake PHPP will depend on the project and the outcome you are trying to achieve but an independent basic package is around $2000 + GST.

Energy Efficient Home Examples