​The 2020 General Election in New Zealand has come and gone, and the results are out. This year, 2,877,116 votes will be counted, an estimated 82.5% turnout from the total enrolled votes—a good improvement from the 79.8% turnout in 2017. After all, 1% of votes this year equals to 28,771 people!
 
There are plenty of reasons why more of us Kiwis have been prompted to vote—whether that’s concerns for the economic effects of the pandemic or the inevitable effects of climate change. Here at Craft Homes, we’re particularly interested in the latter, and kept an eye out on proposed party policies for more sustainable construction, especially in the residential sector.
 
To help with this, we studied https://policy.nz/, a government website that collected every party’s policies on different issues/topics. Here's a breakdown of what each party had planned to improve sustainability practices in New Zealand’s residential construction sector.

​As leading sustainable home builders in NZ, the team at Craft Homes has expert insight into sustainable building practices and the challenges they present. We want to share our knowledge with the public so anyone and everyone can make more informed decisions about their new build homes, so we’ve put together a new eBook entitled, “Building a Sustainable Future: 12 Tips for Building a Sustainable Home, and How Craft Homes Can Help.”
 
The eBook covers 12 key points that we’ve chosen to highlight to help prospective homeowners better prepare for a sustainable build project, and will be released shortly. In this blog, we’ve taken three of the twelve tips, to give you a sample of what you can expect.

What is sustainable building?
Before we get into the first of our sample tips, it’s important to clearly define a sustainable building.
 
A sustainable building is one that minimises the environmental impacts of both constructing and running a home. When most think of sustainable homes, they tend to focus on how a home will run and disregard the initial building processes. Here at Craft Homes, we ensure that we cover both sides of the coin.

Home builders in NZ must abide by the New Zealand Building Code but, in most cases, there’s no incentive to build beyond the minimum code requirements. A report released by BRANZ in June this year--Bulletin 650; Building Beyond Code Minimum—has provided plenty of food for thought regarding who should drive better-performing buildings in New Zealand. BRANZ is an independent research organisation, providing impartial, evidence-based advice on issues within construction and building in NZ. Today, we’re examining the findings of this report and what they mean for the home building industry in NZ.
 
The Current Building Code
Currently, most new homes in New Zealand are built to meet the minimum performance criteria set out by the New Zealand Building Code. This minimum code means “the poorest performing home that can be legally built”. What people often do not realise is that the minimum requirements are often far below what is currently accepted in Australia, parts of Europe, and the UK.

As more and more Kiwis start to prioritise a more sustainable house, we’ve seen a number of trends start to gain momentum, both here and abroad. Examining these trends is key to predicting what will be become the norm in home building here in NZ, and that’s why we’re going over them here. To find out how new homes are tackling sustainability, read on.

Home Wind Turbines
New Zealand’s wind resources are substantial, so it’s no wonder that our wind farms are steadily increasing. For Kiwis interested in creating sustainable energy in their homes, there are small-scale wind turbines of varying types and designs which can be affixed to rooftops or mounted on a pole in the ground. The wind turns turbine’s rotor blades, which then spins a shaft connected to a generator, providing electricity for direct use by a private property.
 
Using wind turbines is becoming more of an attractive option for both homes and businesses alike, as the wind power is clean and renewable, generating electricity without creating any waste or greenhouse gases at all.

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​There are many reasons homeowners might seek to undertake a sustainable home renovation, including boosting property market value, modernising an older home, or simply making a house more stylish or comfortable. These days, one of the most common reasons for renovations that we see is cutting down on energy costs. Typically, this can be done by updating features that help reduce the overall usage of water, electricity, gas, or all of the above.

Even relatively small and cheap renovations can pay for themselves in energy savings quite easily; there are energy-saving renovations that fit any budget. With that in mind, we are looking at some renovations for smaller and bigger budgets and discussing the positive impact these changes can make on your home.
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If you’re in the market to build a house, you may have heard about Homestar homes: houses built to a high energy efficiency standard. These days, green homes and eco homes are quickly becoming a high priority for new homeowners, and Homestar is one of the ways organisations in New Zealand are able to encourage this. After all, building a green home doesn’t only save on energy in the long run, it’s also an investment in your family’s health and the health of the environment.
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To find out more, read on.
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What’s the benchmark for a truly sustainable house? That’s the question that Homestar® certifications set out to answer. Homestar is a national rating tool, run by an independent non-profit organisation called the Green Building Council. The rating—which works on a scale of 6 to 10—is broad and comprehensive, and aims to quantify houses based on health, warmth, and energy efficiency.
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Are you planning on building a new home in the near future? Chances are you’ve probably heard of the passive house NZ movement, or maybe even the German certification that originated the concept; Passivhaus.
 
But what is a passive home, and how does it compare to a green home, i.e. a house built following sustainable guidelines? Do you have to pick one or the other if you want to build ethically? We break down the details below. 

You may not have heard of passive house builders yet, but chances are, you will soon. The energy savings associated with a home that’s able to heat and cool itself automatically—purely through its architectural design—can be a huge advantage when trying to limit greenhouse gas emissions now and well into the future.
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Passive houses have been available for a while (especially in Europe) since they were first designed in Germany. Now, right here in NZ, you have access to passive houses as a great way to reduce your carbon footprint. A passive home, along with some sustainable energy technology and practices, can help you achieve a zero-carbon lifestyle. Read on to find out more!

Just beginning to hear about passive home builders? Not sure what they are? Passive homes could be the next big step for the NZ building industry, especially because New Zealand has a reputation for cold, damp houses. While most European countries with a similar climate to ours have central heating as the norm for all homes, New Zealand doesn’t, and that means there’s an opening for a newer way to design and build--passive houses. Read on to find out more.