Completion: 2017

Builder: Caldwell Highsted

Engineer: eZED

Energy Modelling: Architype

Photographer: Graham Warman

2018 Southern Architecture Awards
Winner - Housing

Jury comments: “As a certified passive house – with superior insulation, smart heat recovery ventilation system and triple-glazed and acoustically quiet windows – this project is a leading example of low-energy building with a clear emphasis on interior comfort levels. Those traits, combined with careful spatial planning, a private west-facing courtyard, sensitive material selections and a bold street presence, have resulted in a very distinguished addition to Stuart Street.”

This house was the first building in Dunedin, New Zealand to achieve the prestigious international passive house standard. It was designed from the ground up to consume only a fraction of the energy of a typical NZ home, all while keeping the occupants super comfortable. The project has a modelled annual heating demand of 14 kWh /(m2.year ). This represents a 90% reduction in space heating relative to a code built house.

Upon completion the house was blower door tested and achieved an airtightness of 0.58 air changes per hour @ 50 pascals of pressure, demonstrating that the house was about 10 times more draft proof than the average NZ home.

The house also features a super energy efficient air sourced heat pump system for the supply of domestic hot water. For every $1 spent on electricity the system supplies $3-4 of hot water.