​With construction costs on the rise, the need to minimise avoidable costs elsewhere in the home-building process is even more important. One of the most common pitfalls we see from people investing in new build homes is runaway design costs, which result from designs that must be revised or even completely redrawn because crucial input wasn’t sought early enough.
 
Currently, construction is going to cost more than usual, so it’s important to get your design right straight away. This is what the Shoebox Model has been developed to address. Created by Sustainable Engineering Ltd, the Shoebox Model is a great way to make Passive House principles a part of the conversation at just the right time.
 
Learn more about the Shoebox Model and how it can benefit your Passive House design below.

High demand for homes in 2021 has included both existing homes and new builds. New dwelling consents have reached their highest levels since about the mid-1970s, according to Australasia property analytics company CoreLogic.
 
Numerous factors are currently contributing to rising construction costs in New Zealand. The impact of COVID-19 on international shipping has dampened the availability of materials and domestic shortages of structural timber haven’t filled the gap. Recent changes to government tax policy have incentivised investors towards new-build properties, and a renewed push for more government-funded housing may well pit private and public sector builders against each other in competition for resources.
 

• Read CoreLogic’s Cordell Building Indices Report

Passive Homes are gaining steam in New Zealand. More and more people are interested in making their new build home a passive home, but many have already had their designs drawn up. When they finally get passive house builders like us involved, many designs that would affect the home’s performance have already been through consent. At this stage, it’s either too late to make the necessary changes or will be considerably expensive and time-consuming to do so.
 
That has posed a challenge for sustainable home advocates like Craft Homes and Sara Wareing at Sustainable Engineering Ltd. People need input from Passive House specialists before they’ve finished their design, but Passive House specialists could historically provide more detailed insight if they had a design to look at. That’s why Sara helped develop the Shoebox Model.
 
The Shoebox Model is a service designed to provide feedback on a home’s performance based only on a sketch or floor plan, the site, and a glazing estimate. The service is affordable, simple, and quick, and has been purpose-built to provide adequate feedback early enough in the design process to have a meaningful impact.

The Shoebox Model takes a broad-strokes approach to put you on the right path, based on the Passive House standard, PHI Low Energy Building standard, or wherever else you wish to land that exceeds the Building Code minimum.
 
This works because some of the simplest design elements can provide enough information to facilitate helpful feedback. The report lays out what R-Value (the level of thermal resistance) will be necessary to achieve various levels of performance. It will identify the areas of greatest concern and opportunities for easy, affordable ways to improve performance, such as the building’s form factor; simpler building shapes like rectangles are not only quicker and easier to build but also make the home more efficient, while more angles and curves make it harder to make the home airtight.
 
The Shoebox Model works for renovations as well as new builds and is easy to revise if your design concept changes. The service will make Passive Houses achievable for a broader swath of New Zealand’s architects and home builders.

• Read what Sustainable Engineering has to say about the Shoebox Model​

The most cost-effective way to build a Passive House is to take performance into account from the earliest stages of the design. Unfortunately, too many clients come to us at Craft Homes with a design they’ve already paid for, only to find that major changes will be necessary to achieve the level of efficiency they seek. With construction costs rising, the prospect of doubling back and paying to implement those revisions will be even more daunting.
 
That’s why the Shoebox Model is so important. By making informed decisions at the design stage, you’ll save time and money on a more efficient home, and the money you save on your home’s operating costs will justify your investment even sooner.
 

• Learn more about the Personal Benefits of a Passive House

Craft Homes makes it easier to build the Passive House you’ve been dreaming of—a beautiful and efficient home that will hold up and save you money. If you’re interested in building a Passive House, come talk to us as soon as possible. With a Passive House specialist involved from the outset, you’ll find it easier to build the efficient, sustainable home you’ve been dreaming of.

More and more New Zealanders are recognising the benefits of sustainable houses. That means the design elements that make them so effective are becoming more popular as well.
 
One such design element is SIPs, an innovative way to build the floor, roof, and walls of a home in a way that minimises both labour costs and build times and maximises energy efficiency. To learn more about SIPs and how they can be used as a vital element within a high-performance home, read on.
 
What are SIPs? 
SIPs, or Structural Insulated Panels, are high-performance, thermally efficient composite panels, in which an insulating layer of polystyrene is sandwiched between two layers of structural strand board. This alternative build material offers a new way to construct the building envelope—walls, roof, and floors—for residential and commercial buildings.

Our SIPs are made and cut by Formance in Christchurch, and Craft Homes is one of only four preferred installers in Auckland.

• Learn more about Formance SIPs.

The Difference Between SIPs and Stick Framing
Traditionally, homes have long been built with stick framing, or frame and truss, but SIPs offer major advantages in a range of important categories, including:

1. On-site build times and labour costs. SIPs are prefabricated, cut to specifications at the factory and delivered to the site ready for construction. Sticks, however, are delivered to the site as timber frames and roof trusses and must then be assembled. That’s why SIPs significantly cut down on on-site build times compared to standard construction techniques, offering savings in labour costs, and reducing the risk of a building site delay.
2. Precision and durability. Stick framing is more labour intensive because it takes longer to get every angle and measurement precisely right. What’s more, many pieces of frame timber don’t arrive perfectly straight. SIPs however are precision-cut, and their layered structure provides a double bracing that inhibits bowing. With fewer joined pieces, they will also last longer and are less prone to creaking and noise.
3. Resale value. Homes built with SIPs tend to enjoy higher resale values, because of their contribution to the home’s enhanced energy efficiency and durability.
4. Materials Costs. SIPs may cost a little more upfront, but as is the case with many other elements of passive homes, cost less over the full life cycle of your home once you factor in labour and energy savings.
5. Availability. SIPs are more readily available at the moment, with Formance panels having a confirmed supply chain well in to 2022 , as New Zealand faces a shortage of materials for framing. Frames and trusses can be harder to get your hands on during a timber shortage like the one we have now, which could further widen the difference in build times between the two options as well.

 
The role SIPs play in prefabricated homes
Energy efficiency is where SIPs really shine. Stick framing doesn’t offer insulation for the building; insulation must be added—and the building envelope made airtight—after the frame is constructed, but SIPs are solid panels with built-in insulation. SIPs have no gaps in their insulation, and offer much superior air tightness compared with stick framing, with up to 90% less air leakage than standard frames.

Because they’re cut to spec at the factory and delivered to the site ready for installation, SIPs also cut down on the amount of construction material waste a building produces. Additionally, they can be custom-made for the climate you live in, incorporating various thicknesses and types of foam based on average temperature and humidity levels.

• Read our Guide to Prefabricated Builds and Prefab Homes.

Work with a preferred SIPs installer for your new build home
Craft Homes is one of New Zealand’s very few passive house builders with experience and expertise in SIPs. We’ll work with you to ensure that every element of your new home is built to peak performance. Contact Craft Homes today to book your free consultation.

New Zealand’s Healthy Homes standards are primarily concerned with insulation rather than ventilation, requiring insulation in the floor and ceiling along with at least one heating source in the house. However, insulation alone won’t solve all of a home’s problems. In fact, just increasing the insulation can sometimes do more harm than good.
 
Additional insulation reduces the amount of heat escaping, but this escaping heat can also help to dry out the walls, floor, and roof of the building. That means that adding insulation, while making it slightly less cold inside, can increase the internal moisture levels by inhibiting the building’s capacity to dry itself out. This can lead to an unhealthy and uncomfortable living environment, which is why an effective, efficient ventilation system is vital to maintaining good air quality and moisture levels in your home.

• In early 2020, MBIE published a report on the moisture issues caused by airtight buildings. View the report here.

​A holistic approach is necessary when you’re looking to upgrade or improve the health of your home; no single element can ensure optimal performance by itself. If you only have the budget for one substantive renovation, however, an effective ventilation system will likely have a bigger overall impact on your home becoming healthier, warmer, dryer, and more comfortable.

At Craft Homes, we understand the impact that mechanical ventilation can have in terms of the health and comfort our homes can provide. Learn more about mechanical ventilation systems below.
​
What are mechanical ventilation systems?
Mechanical ventilation systems cycle fresh air through a house or building. An easy way to think about different mechanical ventilation systems is to think about the kind of pressure they create within a house. When the atmospheric pressure inside a house is higher than it is outside, air will be pushed out of the home. If the pressure inside is lower, then air will be pulled into the home. Some ventilation systems can affect the pressure inside the home by design, to circulate air, while others such as MVHR systems are designed to maintain a satisfactory pressure. These systems can be classified as follows:

• Negative Pressure. A continuous extraction ventilation system constantly pulls moist air from the home (primarily from the bathroom and kitchen) and exhausts it outside through a vent. This creates negative pressure within the home that pulls air in through gaps in the building envelope. This is often the ideal ventilation system for older, leakier homes.
• Balanced Pressure. A mechanical ventilation system achieves optimal efficiency by extracting air through a series of ducts distributed throughout the house and then feeding fresh air back in, maintaining a balanced pressure at a comfortable level. Heat recovery systems use the outgoing air to heat or cool the incoming air, stabilising the temperature. These systems work best in homes with a high level of airtightness.
• Positive Pressure. A fan filters air from the attic and forces it into the house when it reaches an ideal temperature. This creates positive pressure that forces interior air out through gaps in the building envelope. While fairly common, this system is not recommended, as it creates a risk of condensation and moisture damage and may not work as intended in a home with a high level of airtightness.

Why Mechanical Ventilation is Necessary
Mechanical ventilation systems are a great way for homeowners with lower budgets to make a meaningful improvement to their homes, and more and more experts are acknowledging their benefits. After years of scepticism, BRANZ finally embraced mechanical ventilation systems in late 2020, recommending that residential buildings be mechanically ventilated and built to an airtightness target. Jason Quinn, Director at Sustainable Engineering, continues to advocate for mechanical ventilation systems in all New Zealand buildings, not just new Passive Houses and high-performance buildings.
 
A continuous mechanical ventilation system in your home will:

• Reduce levels of relative humidity within your home
• Minimise the risk of condensation, mould, and dampness
• Reduce the risk of illness from indoor air pollutants
• Operate quietly and without disruption year-round

 
An MVHR system that uses filtered air will also:

• Provide cleaner air that is more comfortable for those with allergies or asthma.
• Improve indoor air quality

These benefits have a direct impact on our well-being. Stale humidity or dampness in a home can lead to condensation and moisture, which lead to mould. Mould releases tiny spores into the air that can aggravate—or even cause—respiratory conditions and other illnesses.
​

• Read more about the impact that New Zealand’s substandard housing quality has on our health.

In addition to a healthier environment, mechanical ventilation contributes to a more comfortable environment as well. By extracting moisture, humidity levels are kept within an optimally comfortable range. Also, heat recovery systems help to ensure that the temperature is even throughout the house.

Which ventilation system is right for you?
As with most features in your house, there is no single mechanical ventilation system that will suit all homes. For new build houses that meet higher efficiency and airtightness targets, a Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR) system will likely be your ideal solution, this is also known as a balanced pressure system. These systems provide filtered fresh air and extract stale, moist air. An air-to-air heat exchange system then recovers as much as 90% of the heat produced within the home, helping to maintain a comfortable and even temperature throughout. However, these systems may not be as effective in older homes that already leak too much air.
 
For those older, leakier homes, a Continuous Extraction Ventilation system (also called a negative pressure system) may work better. This type of system extracts stale air from the indoor environment, normally from the kitchen and bathroom. The “fresh” air is then pulled into the house from somewhere through the building’s envelope, either from the crawlspace below the floor or from the attic or garage if the house sits on a concrete slab. This air is not filtered, and therefore is not necessarily clean and healthy.
 
Choose a healthier home
At Craft Homes, we specialise in every system and design element that contributes to a healthier and more comfortable home. We apply a holistic approach to ensuring the best possible indoor environment from the design stage and work with you from concept to completion. Get in touch with Craft Homes today to learn more about the role that mechanical ventilation can play in a healthier future for you and your home.

Sustainability and energy efficiency have largely driven the conversation surrounding passive homes in New Zealand, and for good reason. Certainly, passive house are not just worth the investment, but also vital to New Zealand’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. However, the benefits of passive homes don’t stop at helping to beat climate change. They also offer significant benefits to your personal wellbeing!

​With a passive house, you don’t have to sacrifice your comfort to further the cause of sustainability. That’s because passive homes achieve high levels of operational efficiency as well as offering you an exceptional level of comfort and a healthy living environment. Building using the Passive House standard means that you can choose health and comfort whilst maintaining world leading quality. Learn more about these personal benefits below.

What is the Passive House Standard and how can it benefit you?
Passive House is a building design and quality assurance standard that maximises the energy efficiency of a home. Passive Houses are designed to meet strict standards of airtightness, insulation, and indoor air quality, amongst other things. Importantly, a Passive House is modelled prior to construction on how well a house operates within its unique circumstances, such as the climate and orientation. That’s why a passive house in the South Island might require triple-glazed windows while a passive house in Northland may need only double-glazing to achieve the same standard.

The 5 principles of Passive House – PHINZ brochure 2017

A Passive House will deliver superior air quality and excellent acoustic, thermal, and visual comfort. The high level of indoor air quality is provided in part by the continuous mechanical ventilation system, which continuously circulates fresh, filtered air. This is particularly noticeable for those suffering from asthma or hay fever. You will find a Passive house is noticeably quiet inside, giving a palpable sense of calm. You will also notice the comfortable temperature, regardless of external conditions, and that this temperature is maintained throughout the house. This means no cold spots or the need to close doors to keep the heat in certain parts of the house.
 
Passive houses achieve these outcomes by taking a fabric-first approach that focuses on the building envelope (floors, walls, and roof) at the design stage, as these are ultimately the elements that will have the biggest impact when it comes to making your home more energy-efficient and comfortable. A home that prevents condensation, draughts, and mould, dampens exterior noise, and maintains a stable and comfortable temperature, will meet many of the goals of a Passive House.
 
You might notice that the word “comfort” appears frequently here, and that’s no accident. One aspect of Passive Houses that is often overlooked is that an inefficient home is often also uncomfortable! The same problems that cause a home to waste energy also cause that home to be draughty and even mouldy. By maximising operational efficiency, Passive Houses deliver peak temperature control and air quality, providing meaningful benefits to you.

• Learn more about the key design elements of a passive house.

Comfort
Passive Houses are designed to maintain a temperature between 20° and 22°C without heating or cooling and maintain an even temperature throughout the house, thanks to a superior building envelope.

 Health
We spend, on average, over 80% of our time indoors, so quality ventilation can have a major impact on our physical health. Mechanical ventilation—an important element in passive homes—filters out dust, pollen, and other airborne contaminants to keep your home fresh and clean. Thermal recovery systems ensure that heat is not lost or gained.
 
Furthermore, levels of humidity are kept under a certain amount (often under 40%) to minimise the risk of mould, which in turn contributes to higher indoor air quality.
 
Resilience
Structurally, passive houses are built to exceed—not merely meet—the New Zealand Building Code durability and resilience requirements. Superior airtightness and insulation are defining features in a passive house. An exterior weathertight layer and internal membrane or airtightness layer keeps external and internal moisture out of the insulation layers of the thermal envelope.
 
Savings
The cost of living in a passive house is one of the questions we are most frequently asked about at Craft Homes. A Passive House can cost the same to build as an architecturally designed house. However, it is vital that high-performance, Passive House features are specified from the start.
 
The most important thing with a Passive House is to prioritise the building envelope and the primary Passive House design elements when budgeting for your new build. If you find that you don’t have the budget upfront for a fancy kitchen or lavish bathroom, then that might be an opportunity for a renovation further down the road. The exceptional operational efficiency of a Passive House will make budgeting for future renovations and additions easier.
 
You can also preserve your budget by keeping your design simple. A rectangular home, for example, is much easier than complex shapes, in part because simple, square designs lose less heat.
 
When accounting for the true savings a passive house can provide, it’s important to keep the following elements in mind:

• The ongoing power costs. Operational efficiency can have a major impact on the cost of a home across its full life cycle.
• The market value. Homes that meet the standards laid out by the Passive House Institute of New Zealand could be worth up to 10% more than homes built to minimum building code standards.
• Non-financial benefits such as improved health and wellbeing. This could include losing fewer workdays to illness, spending less money on hospital visits and medication, increasing productivity due to improved health, and other benefits that can be meaningful but difficult to quantify.

 
Craft Homes are Bringing These Benefits to New Zealand Homeowners
The certified and qualified team of Passive House builders at Craft Homes has been among New Zealand’s most passionate advocates for sustainable homes. Our exciting new build in Raglan will be an opportunity to share the many benefits of passive home living with New Zealand. Contact Craft Homes today to learn more about how passive homes can improve your overall wellbeing and save you money.

Climate change continues to be one of the greatest challenges facing Aotearoa and the rest of the world in the 21st Century. New Zealand has committed to meeting the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, and that means fundamental changes, not just to the homes we build but also how we build them.

As we’ve written before, New Zealand has been slow to push for better-performing buildings, although companies like Craft Homes are making a difference one home at a time through innovative design, sustainable building practices, and public advocacy. Fortunately, more ambitious goals from the government, along with a wealth of new policy proposals, suggest change may be on the horizon!

​The Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment (MBIE) has recently unveiled Building for Climate Change, a programme intended to reduce “emissions from buildings during their construction and operation, while also preparing buildings to withstand changes in the climate.”
 
This programme is very important because it recognises and addresses the role that construction practices and design principles play in the carbon emissions of New Zealand’s built environment. These policies target many of the largest barriers to more sustainable homes that New Zealand faces, and the construction industry will play a crucial role in their success. That’s where net-zero buildings enter the frame!

What are net-zero buildings?
Net-Zero Energy buildings, or NZE buildings, are buildings that create more renewable energy than the total energy the building consumes.
 
The New Zealand Green Building Council, according to their Zero Carbon Road Map for Aotearoa’s Buildings, also accounts for carbon emitted during the construction process when defining net-zero buildings. In other words, it’s not just the energy lost to light bulbs and air conditioning that counts toward a home’s overall carbon emissions, but also the energy lost to construction and waste. Net-zero homes are eco-friendly long before you move in.
 
The operational emissions from running a home are far greater than the emissions from building the home in the first place, but it’s important to understand that effectively reducing operational emissions begins as early as the design stage.

• Read the NZGBC Zero Carbon Road Map for Aotearoa’s Buildings

For that reason, builders need to work with designers from the start to account for the way that homes are constructed. MBIE’s Building for Climate Change Programme has centred on two frameworks to do just that: The Whole-of-Life Embodied Carbon Emissions Framework and the Transforming Operational Efficiency Framework.

What is embodied carbon?
Embodied carbon refers to the carbon emissions of any material used in construction. This carbon footprint model considers the following:

• How far the material has travelled (energy spent on distribution)
• How the material was manufactured (energy spent on production)
• What can be done with the material at the end of its lifecycle (energy spent on disposal and replacement)

When we talk about embodied carbon, we’re considering more than just the energy efficiency of the home itself; we’re also considering the energy (and the carbon) that was spent to make that home a reality, as well as the energy that will be required when those materials reach the end of their life cycle. This allows us to contextualise the carbon footprint of our homes within the larger construction industry and helps us identify innovative ways to achieve carbon-neutral building practices—a priority of the Whole-of-Life Embodied Carbon Emissions Framework in the Building for Climate Change Programme.

What is operational carbon?
Operational carbon refers to the carbon emissions of the day-to-day operation of a home, from energy spent on lighting, heating, and ventilation to the gas burned at the stove or in the water heater. The Building for Climate Change Programme’s Transforming Operational Efficiency Framework focuses primarily on these areas.
 
The Healthy Homes Design Guide, which strives “to help designers and industry professionals bridge the gap between the current Building Code and the solutions required to achieve healthy, resilient, durable, comfortable, affordable, low carbon homes,” shines plenty of light on how important it is to build an energy efficient home. As you can see in the chart below, a home’s operational energy emits more carbon than building materials, home construction, water consumption, and end-of-life processes combined.

​Percentage of carbon emissions over the full life cycle of New Zealand residential homes (Source: The Healthy Homes Design Guide)

The Design Principles for Reducing Carbon Emissions
Clearly, operational emissions are more substantial than building emissions, so if you can create an energy-efficient home, you’ve gone a long way to reducing the carbon emissions of your new build home. Here are some of the crucial design elements that make a net-zero home possible:

• Using electricity, rather than gas, for heating and cooking
• Reducing the home’s embodied carbon
• Using timber-framed windows that meet Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) requirements
• Reducing construction waste
• Using more prefabricated build elements

How our Raglan build is helping put net-zero homes on the map in New Zealand
As we’ve written about recently, our off-grid new build in Te Mata near Raglan, which will be our personal home as well as a show home for passive homes in the area, will be an exciting demonstration of the comfort and savings a net-zero home can provide, as well as the effectiveness of net zero construction. Our new build will make use of the design principles mentioned above and will produce more renewable energy than we’ll use, making it a pristine example of the materials and building practices that we know will bring New Zealand closer to our goal of carbon-neutral housing by 2050.
 
Construction is freshly underway, and we can’t wait to share our progress with you!

• Read more about Toby and Cat’s net-zero home build near Raglan.

Make your new home a part of New Zealand’s carbon-neutral success story
NZGBC’s Carbon Roadmap for Aotearoa lays out a plan to ensure that all new homes built in New Zealand are net-zero carbon from 2030 and that every home in New Zealand is carbon-neutral by 2050. Here at Craft Homes, we’re doing our part to help New Zealand meet that goal. Get in touch today to learn more about the wide-ranging benefits of net-zero homes.

When we talk about the challenges facing the New Zealand housing sector, we often overlook a very important issue; New Zealand homes are too cold, too damp, and too inefficient, and these problems are impacting our health. At Craft Homes, we’re passionate about sustainable building and understand the impact that your home environment can have on your wellbeing. Continue reading to learn more about the relationship between your home and your health, why New Zealand is falling behind, and what we can do to catch up.

​The problem with New Zealand homes
Over 75% of New Zealand’s homes were built before the New Zealand Building Code was updated in 1978 to require minimal insulation, but the problem didn’t end when these regulations went into effect. Even many homes built after the introduction of these insulation requirements are losing heat and retaining moisture. Why? Because builders aren’t aiming high enough when it comes to energy-efficient design and build quality. New Zealand’s building codes are effectively a baseline for the worst home you can legally build. Unfortunately, New Zealand builders don’t see enough incentive to exceed these low expectations.

The result? The quality of New Zealand homes is decades behind other OECD countries. We’re treating the bare minimum as our goal when it comes to housing quality, and that poses significant problems for our health.

• Read the OECD report on Improving Well-Being Through Better Housing Policy in New Zealand

​Why are New Zealand homes so far behind?
You can trace New Zealand’s substandard housing quality back to its proud, rugged settlers’ history, when Europeans considered uncomfortable living conditions a rite of passage for their pioneering culture, but the problem today may have more to do with the country’s housing shortage. With high demand and low supply, New Zealand is in a rush to build new homes, and high property costs have created an environment where cheaper materials and building methods are often preferred.

This results in homes that are inefficient and thus expensive to heat, so, to save money, many New Zealanders opt not to sufficiently heat their homes in the colder winter months. A 2015 survey by BRANZ suggested that nearly half of New Zealand homes did not consistently heat their bedrooms in winter.

While the World Health Organisation recommends a minimum temperature of 18°C for rooms occupied by young children, the elderly, or those with chronic illness, the average bedroom temperature between 12 AM and 9 AM in New Zealand homes is a mere 13 degrees.

​What are the health risks of low-quality homes?
Cool, damp homes contribute to a range of health problems. A study by BMC Public Health in 2007 called for a new renewed focus on New Zealand’s unusually high excess winter mortality rate of about 1,600 deaths per year. Another study, this one affiliated with the He Kainga Oranga and Health Research Programme, drew a direct connection between the poor insulation of New Zealand homes and a range of health-related concerns, such as wheezing, missed school and workdays, and GP and hospital visits.

• Read the study on the Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality

Moisture in homes can also lead to mould, which releases tiny spores into the air that aggravate (and sometimes even cause) respiratory issues. Asthma, particularly among children, is commonly attributed to these unhealthy living conditions. Respiratory disease is New Zealand’s third highest cause of death. New Zealand also has the worst childhood asthma rate in the world, affecting one in seven children and 30% of our seven-year-olds, disproportionately Pacific peoples.  

Other health problems that can arise from mould include:

• Allergies
• Eye irritation
• Headaches and nausea
• Other flu-like symptoms

Asthma New Zealand is closely monitoring the impact of New Zealand’s housing quality on respiratory health. You can read their Healthy Homes blog to learn more.

What is being done to improve the standards of New Zealand homes?
In 2020, the NZ government launched the MBIE Building System Regulatory Strategy, which laid out a plan for the next 10 to 15 years of building regulation, with the goal of “achieving positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes for New Zealand and New Zealanders, now and in the future”.

We’ve written previously about who is responsible for driving changes in New Zealand’s building codes. We explained that action is needed at the government level to bring about the required level of change. Higher standards must be set, but because these standards will take time to go into effect and yield substantive results, the time to act is now.

With its majority in parliament, the Labour Party can pursue other policies they’ve proposed to drive more sustainable and energy-efficient building construction, such as the Building for Climate Change programme and the continued implementation of the 3-year Construction Sector Transformation Plan from the Construction Accord.
​

• Read our blog about the Proposed Party Policies for Sustainable Housing.

Are these efforts working?
New Zealand is striving to meet the Paris Agreement goal of ensuring all buildings operate at net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but we’re nowhere near meeting those goals. Ultimately, the code isn’t likely to change fast enough, so we New Zealanders have to be ahead of that by choosing to build higher quality homes.

How Craft Homes is Making a Difference
New Zealand can no longer wait for the government to make these changes at the speed and scale they must be made, so we’re joining forces with other industry specialists to bring about the change we need to see. We’re proud supporting members of the Superhome Movement, an industry led group dedicated to driving transformative change in the building industry and making New Zealand homes healthier and more energy efficient.

• Learn more about the Superhome Healthy Home Design Guide

At Craft Homes, we’re doing our part to educate New Zealand on the benefits of High Performance Homes and how to build them. Often, when our clients want to build an eco-home in NZ, we find that a big part of our job is educating them on what they need to do to achieve that. Subtle but important design decisions, such as setting windows within the wall frame rather than flush with the exterior line, can make a real difference.
​
Our efforts don’t stop with our clients, either. The concepts and innovations driving High Performance Homes are new to architects and designers as well, so we work directly with them to ensure that the correct design decisions are made at the outset when they are the easiest and most cost-efficient to implement. Many of these design decisions are outlined in our free eBook, 12 Tips for Building a Sustainable Home and How Craft Homes Can Help.

Working with clients and architects alike helps us raise awareness of High Performance Homes and the role they can play in a healthier, greener future for New Zealand. We want more people to appreciate that our building code isn’t the standard to aim for, and that a more efficient, comfortable, and healthy home is within reach.

Learn more about the benefits of High Performance Homes
The initial investment in High Performance Homes may be higher, but it pays off in terms of health, comfort, and power bills. At Craft Homes, we’re aiming for a higher quality home. If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of High Performance Homes, contact the team at Craft Homes today.

Our Journey to Living Off-Grid & Constructing a High-Performance Home
Here at Craft Homes, we’re proud advocates of sustainable building in New Zealand. This is evident not just in the projects we've completed for Kiwi families around the country, but also in the homes we build for our very own. In fact, we have exciting news on that front!
 
After we, Toby & Cat Tilsley, purchased our dream 15 acres of land in Te Mata just out of Raglan around the middle of last year, we’re thrilled to share our plan and journey in building an off-grid, high-performance home!
 
At the time of writing, we’ve submitted plans to council and hope to start building in April 2021. We are going to live in the home, but also plan to use it as a Show Home for high-performance homes in the area. We hope to inspire people with our sustainable, off-grid lifestyle and help others witness the clear benefits of this type of build, so they too can find ways to achieve the same.

Below, we lay out what living off-grid entails, what high-performance home are, and how we plan to achieve both. If you want to witness this exciting journey from the very beginning, read on!

What does “living off-grid” entail?
Living off-grid entails living in a way that you don’t have to rely on external systems, suppliers, or providers, e.g., living without being connected to the mains electricity or power grid.
 
How we plan to achieve off-grid living
Solar Power
Getting power from the mains line to a rural site can cost thousands of dollars and is an issue for most people living in rural areas. This is one of the many reasons why we’ve decided to invest that huge lump sum into a fully off-grid PV (solar) energy system and produce our own energy.
 
If you want to live off the mains grid, the key is working out energy requirements. Take stock of every appliance in your house—from the washing machine down to your electric toothbrush—and determine your hourly power usage. It’s also important to note that these daily energy requirements might change in summer versus winter.
 
Then, engage a solar expert to work out the number of solar panels and battery backups you’ll need for your daily energy requirements. Of course, it won’t always be straightforward, as there are a lot of technical things to factor in. Most homes can end up with excess (overflow energy) which can be saved in a battery. To make the most of solar power, we recommend setting up your home to use the most energy during the middle of the day when the sun is at its highest point.
 
Rainfall Harvesting & Wastewater Treatment
In New Zealand, we have a reasonable amount of rainfall, but relatively few people harvest it. We plan to collect the rainwater that falls off our roof and filter it through to a tank, which can be used for drinking water, for watering the garden, doing the laundry, etc.
 
We will also be using the Natural Flow system that separates black and grey water at its source and naturally treats both to convert solid waste into liquid fertiliser, so no power is needed. Blackwater from toilets is treated by worms and a filtering process. This is a closed ecosystem that simulates the forest floor. Greywater, on the other hand, is treated via a series of natural settling and filtering processes. The black and greywater are then combined before disposal into the soil to be used for irrigation.
 
Growing Our Own Food
We’ll be cultivating our own veggie garden and creating an orchard for fruit trees so we can grow as much of our food as possible.
 
Furthermore, we’ll be keeping animals such as chicken and pigs. They are their own composting system, after all, and leftover food and offcuts from vegetables can also be fed to them to reduce waste.
 
What is a High-Performance Home?
A high-performance home is a house constructed in a way that maximises energy efficiency. When building this type of home, the focus is on delivering a comfortable and well-ventilated home that’s both energy efficient and very quiet. Homes of any size or style can be built to this high standard using a range of different techniques and materials. In addition to creating a very energy efficient home we plant to produce as much energy as the building uses, which is essentially living off-grid!
 
High-performance home design requires optimum performance of the following factors:

• Airtightness
• Insulation
• Ventilation
• Heat recovery
• Energy-efficient appliances
• Low energy consumption

If you want to learn more, visit our High Performance Homes page.
 
How we plan to achieve an Off-Grid, High-Performance Home  
As well as using the design principles above, we are planning on using various innovative products in our Raglan home.
 
Examples of these are:

• SIPS panels. These are prefabricated wall and roof panels that arrive on site pre-cut. Read our Guide to Prefabrication Builds for more information.
• Fully off-grid PV (solar) system to supply all our energy needs.
• Rainwater harvesting to supply all our water needs.
• Pellet boiler to provide all hot water needs, including hydronic underfloor heating. This system is commonly used in Europe but would be a first for New Zealand.
• European style thermally broken timber joinery, which provides superior air tightness and thermal efficiency compared with standard joinery.

We will also be using New Zealand products and materials where possible to support local businesses as well as reduce the environmental impact of importing and exporting materials. Examples of these would be:

• Recycled timber flooring. These will be sourced from Christchurch (post-earthquake flooring).
• The ​Blackwood Project charred wood timber cladding that uses an ancient Japanese method of charring wood to make it waterproof without use of chemical treatments.
• NaturalFlow water treatment system. As mentioned above, this separates and treats black and greywater to irrigate the garden.
• Macrocarpa timber. We have already started milling some of the macrocarpa trees from our land for structural timber on our porch area. Check out our photos below!

Ultimately, it’s about sustainable living
At the end of the day, it’s about creating a sustainable lifestyle that’s great for our family and the environment—all the way from the building materials we use to the appliances we’ll be using in our day-to-day living.
 
Keep on the lookout for exciting updates!
We will be releasing a video series of the build process as we go, so stay tuned on the Craft Homes Facebook Page or our website!
 
If you are interested in building a High-Performance New Build Home, or just curious about sustainable building, don’t hesitate to contact us or ring Toby at 021 025 53091 to set up a free consultation. 

Prefabricated builds offer a raft of benefits when it comes to both sustainable construction and time and cost savings. There is a common misconception, however, that prefab construction results in boxy, uniform houses, but this is not the case. As home builders in New Zealand, we have used prefab components in a number of projects and want to share their benefits to both you and the environment! Keep reading to find out what these are and learn more about the prefab building process.
 
What is prefabrication in construction?
Prefabrication, usually shortened to “prefab”, refers to the process of manufacturing parts of a building off-site, usually in a factory. These are then delivered to the building site, either complete or ready to assemble.
 
Prefab homes may be gaining popularity now, but they have been used in New Zealand for many generations. Maori bundled raupō (bullrush) in advance for use in their whare (houses). Early European settlers shipped parts of prefabricated buildings from overseas. 

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​Prefab builds can come as a whole building ready to be transported into place, or as specific smaller components that are then assembled on site. The image below shows the range of options available when it comes to prefabrication. From wall panels to volumes and hybrid structures ready to be delivered to site, there are many ways to approach prefab builds.

The Benefits of Prefabrication
There are three main benefits of prefabrication: time and cost savings, better quality, and reduced waste.
 
Time and cost savings
Prefab homes can be completed much faster and in a more streamlined manner compared to traditional builds. Prefab NZ, New Zealand’s Prefab membership organisation, estimates that prefab building can lead to a 15% saving in construction costs and a 60% reduction in construction time.
 
As well as reducing costs, prefab building also allows for more pricing certainty from the onset, rather than waiting to see how a traditional build pans out in terms of time and materials used. 
 
Better quality homes with less damage
Having prefab panels and components built in a factory allows for more precision than building on-site. This means you can be sure pieces will arrive straight and will fit together correctly.
 
Another benefit is that the framing will not have been subject to any bad weather and will not have any water damage that could lead to mould growing in the framing. The fast assembly time also means that the roof can be attached faster, protecting all the internal materials from the elements.   
 
Reduced waste
Producing framing in a factory leads to less waste in terms of offcuts, as pieces can be cut to size much more precisely. Another environmental benefit is that any chemicals used during production can be cleaned up correctly inside the factory, rather than ending up in the earth on the building site.

Recent Prefab Trends & Materials
Technological advancements and innovations in both process and materials are constantly being made in the prefab space, and three of which are gaining momentum in New Zealand: mass customisation, cross-laminated timber (CLT), and structural insulated panels (SIPs).

Mass customisation 
Modern prefab builds allow for unique designs using technology-driven components such as panels and pods, or a modular building system. This means you won’t get an “out of the catalogue” look. The ability to join different panels and components means that the homeowner can still have input into the design, while reaping the benefits of cost and timing certainty that prefabrication provides.

Cross-laminated timber
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels are a type of prefab panel made by gluing several layers of solid wood board together. These panels are precisely and economically cut in a factory according to specifications, and are strong enough for use in walls, floors, stairs, and as structural roofing panels.
 
Since CLT panels have their own thermal mass, they can be used in passive house design, particularly when well insulated. Additionally, the natural timber is great for acoustics, helps regulate moisture levels in the building, and has no embodied carbon.
 
CLT panels are installed like any other prefab panel—by transporting them to the site and screwing them into place. These can also be unscrewed and reused for future builds if necessary.
 
Structural insulated panels
Structural insulated panels (SIPs), also known as ‘stress-skin’ panels, feature a polystyrene core pressed between two panels. These panels are generally made of oriented strand board but can also be made from other materials, such as plywood and steel. Similar to CLT panels, SIPs can be used for a building’s structure instead of traditional framing, and are also custom-made and custom-cut in a factory according to specifications.
 
SIPs offer plenty of benefits to any build: they let you achieve high R-values for insulation at a good price, are airtight, reduce waste and building time on-site, and protect insulation from deterioration and pests.
 
Recent Prefab Projects at Craft Homes
From time of writing, most of our recent high-performance home builds have incorporated elements of prefabrication, and we’re thrilled to be able to bring prefab technology to more Kiwi homes.

​Our recently completed Red Beach home project has been thermally modelled as a low energy home, and has prefab floor, wall, and roof panels from CARTERS. We’re also currently completing a SIP home in Cornwallis using SIP walls and roofing from Formance, who are New Zealand based (shown in the image above).
 
Finally, our new home that we will be building in Raglan in early 2021 will be using structurally insulated panels.
        
Using prefab components in your next build
To see how prefab construction could save you time and money when building a new home, talk to the expert team here at Craft Homes! We have experience using prefab components in our projects and would be happy to go over the benefits in detail during a free consultation.

​What is the One Billion Trees Programme?
The One Billion Trees programme was launched in January 2019 to increase tree planting efforts across New Zealand. According to the Ministry for Primary Industries, “the goal is to double the current planting rate to reach one billion trees planted by 2028.” 

There is $240 million in funding available from the One Billion Trees Fund for landowners, organisations, and community groups to plant trees and improve the way we grow and plant trees. Funding has increased and fluctuated since the programme’s inception to accommodate for changes in the economy, particularly after COVID-19 hit. 

What are its projected benefits? 
The government states that the programme, if implemented and followed through correctly, has the potential to provide huge benefits for our environment, our people, our communities, and our economy. It also aims to make it easier for everyone—from a farm-land owner to your average homeowner—to plant the right tree, in the right place, and for the right purpose. 

Below is a list of tangible benefits that the programme hopes to bring:

• Meaningful employment
• More native plantations
• Enhanced biodiversity in our ecosystem
• Better land use management
• Reduced erosion
• Improved water quality
• Mixed farming enterprise and diverse income stream
• Wide-scale education
• Re-establishment of the forestry industry

The programme is also part of a wider effort for us to meet our international climate change commitments. 

How can you apply for funding?
Funding is available for landowners, organisations, and communities in two ways: Direct Grants and Partnership Funding.
 
To apply for Direct Grants, you will need to collect documents of supporting information, including meeting the Eligibility Criteria for Direct Grants, prepare a management plan, and complete an application form. The MPI provides handy planting and management templates as well as funding guides on their How To Apply for Direct Grants page. Direct Grant payments will then be paid in instalments after you meet certain milestones during your project, which helps ensure accountability and good funding use. 

What trees can you plant?
The New Zealand Farm Forestry Association has created a list of tree species to plant to ensure we plant the right trees at the right place. It contains lists of indigenous trees, commonly grown commercial forestry species, and further information. The FFA recommends checking with your local council before deciding on what tree to plant on your land. 

One Billion Trees Programme Tree List 
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How is the programme tracking?
According to the latest One Billion Trees Fund Monitoring and Evaluation Report released in August 2020, $108.5 million has been allocated at the 18-month mark in June 2020, which is over half of the total funding available. 

Key report findings:

• 466 direct landowner grant applications have been approved.
• 77 partnership projects have been approved.
• 58% of the funded trees are indigenous.

Why does this matter to us?
Our team of home builders here at Craft Homes believe in sustainability across all stages of the building process—from sourcing sustainable materials to designing for overall energy efficiency. Planting trees not only has clear environmental benefits, but having access to locally sourced commercial timber from certified plantation forests will be a huge boon for the building industry. By extension, this helps support the forestry industry and boost local economy. 

As a material, timber is generally a sustainably produced product, is naturally renewable, and has a low carbon footprint. Timber framing also has better thermal performance than aluminium, which means better energy efficiency, reduced heating energy costs, improved comfort, and a reduced environmental footprint for new build homes. 

Keen to find out more?
If you would like to learn more about the One Billion Trees Programme, visit the MPI website for more information. If you’re curious about starting a sustainable building project for your new home, get in touch with the team today!

As part of The Superhome Movement’s team of home builders, we believe that this is an immensely positive and progressive guide for the building industry as a whole. Below, we’ve highlighted some great insights from the guide that inform our work as eco-home builders and resonate with our values and mission to build healthier, high-performance homes. 

Defining a healthy home
According to the guide, a healthy home is described as one that boasts high indoor environment quality (IEQ). This is determined from four key metrics: 

• thermal comfort (temperature), 
• visual comfort, 
• acoustic comfort (noise transfer), and 
• indoor air quality.

Furthermore, the Superhome Movement characterises a healthy home as: Healthy, Efficient, Resilient, On Purpose, Environmental, and Sustainable (HEROES).