Source: New Zealand Government
The first Government-led Passive House Development in Australasia will see public housing customers pay around $1 a day to heat and cool their homes, while delivering significantly reduced carbon emissions.
Housing Minister Megan Woods says the Bader Ventra development in Mangere, Auckland is a major step forward in providing innovative homes by Kāinga Ora that will help reduce the carbon footprint of our future public houses, while easing cost pressures on low-income families and people.
“The 18 home Kāinga Ora development will deliver a reduced operational carbon footprint of around 35% and reduced space heating electricity use by around 62%, compared with a standard 6 Homestar Kāinga Ora home,” Megan Woods said.
“A Passive House is built to a strict standard, where features such as airtight construction, superior insulation and a whole house mechanical ventilation system deliver a healthy home that is thermally efficient.
“This is the highest performing development Kāinga Ora has ever designed, and as an innovation pilot, aims to understand the benefits of Passive Housing and help build capability in low carbon construction.
“Bader Ventura will achieve the very high Passive House standard and an 8 Homestar rating— meaning they are some of the most comfortable, healthy, energy efficient homes possible.
“Over the next 12 months, Kāinga Ora will measure the performance of these homes to see if the predicted benefits are realised. This means measuring indoor air temperature and humidity, air quality, hot water and electricity usage.
“This information is critical to informing future Kāinga Ora build standards, and improving sector-wide knowledge and capacity.
“The potential wellbeing outcomes for public housing customers are considerable, and for Kāinga Ora as the country’s largest developer this is a big step towards helping achieve the sector’s climate change targets.
“I’m pleased to see Kāinga Ora using its scale to innovate and test new ways of working, and sharing the journey with industry partners.”
“These homes are part of the Government’s build programme that has delivered over 12,000 extra public houses in the past six years, with thousands more much needed homes to come,” Megan Woods said.
The three-level walk up apartments are a mix of two and three bedroom homes, with the six ground floor apartments all built to full universal design standard—meaning the homes meet the broad and changing needs of New Zealanders, including those with disabilities, so customers can live well and age in place.
Project details:
- 6 x 2 bedroom and 12 x 3 bedroom homes in a 3 level walk-up typology.
- All 6 ground floor units are built to full universal design standard.
- Homes will regulate their own temperature through smart design, the use of high performing construction materials, and a ventilation system with heat recovery.
- Achieving both an 8 Homestar v4.1 and 7 Homestar v5 built rating.
Project Partners
- Precision Construction – Build Partner
- Peddlethorp – Architects
- Oculus Architectural Engineering Ltd – Passive House Lead and Façade Engineers
- Kirk Roberts – Structural Engineers
- 2PiR Consulting – Building Services Engineers
- Sustainable Engineering – Passive House Certifiers
