Passive House Living

Located in North Canterbury, the Gibbon House demonstrates that Passive House performance is not beyond the reach of first-home buyers. One of the owners works for a supplier of high-performance building components and understands the “massive benefits” such a house would provide his young family. His professional experience with multiple Passive House projects contributed to a smooth design and build process. Although the project was extensively documented in video, there was no drama to see here. There was excitement, though! Like when the bulk of the house was erected in just one and a half days. The project used structural insulated wall panels prefabricated by Ecopanel near Christchurch. These custom-made, modified timber frames arrive on-site with structural facing, a rigid air barrier, insulation, INTELLO® Intelligent Air Barrier membrane and a service cavity. The panels were erected onsite directly off the back of the loader crane they arrived on. The house stands on a MAXraft concrete slab. Windows were manufactured in Mosgiel using European glazing. As expected, triple-glazing was required this far south, and in this case, with low e-coating and argon fill. The owners had a modest budget and wanted their house to demonstrate that Passive House performance is within the reach of middle-income families. Its simple form and moderate size (166 m² TFA, excluding a detached double garage) helped the building meet Passive House energy targets; it still provides three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a home office. A veranda encircles 70% of the house, softening the rectangular shape and providing outdoor living areas that are easily accessible through 2.2 m high by 3.6 m wide sliding doors. The owners have already enjoyed two winters in their first home. Christchurch can have meagre sunshine hours in winter, so they use more heating than initially expected. However, a small panel heater for a bedroom provides all the additional heat they need to keep the house comfortably warm. Heating Demand 24.9 kWh/m²/year Heating Load 9.4 W/m² Frequency of Overheating 2% year over 25°C TFA 166 m² Form Factor 3.2 Air leakage @ 50Pa0.3 ACH/hour PER demand 55 kWh/m²/year