Whanganui District Riverton

The first house developed by Ehaus in 2010 as a prototype to test the theory of Passive House and the newly developed New Zealand climate data. When completed it was the most air tight house that had been built in New Zealand (0.6AC n50) and was tested by Thomas Van Ramsdonk from Proclima, who had one of the few blower doors in NZ at that time. Following construction the house was monitored in 2011 - 2012.

The performance of the home met all the expectations and confirmed the decision for eHaus to focus on the Passive House Standard. A conventional external style was chosen in keeping with the subdivision but the inside is very modern. A large open plan dining, living kitchen area with en-suite that is an integral part of the master bedroom separated by a floating wall. The house was constructed using ecoBlock which proved to be an excellent option for this and many future projects.

Design Components

Floor: Insulated concrete pad with a U-value of 0.598 W/(m²K)

WALL: EcoBlock ICF wall U-value = 0.267 W/(m²K)

ROOF: 300mm of wool insulation U-value of 0.142 W/(m²K)

WINDOW JOINERY FRAME: Thermally Broken Aluminium windows – Uf: 3,8 W/(m²K)

GLAZING: Double Glazed 4-16-4 Low E Argon U g-value = 1.3 W/(m2K) g-value = 64%

VENTILATION: Zehnder Comfo Air 350 MHRV

HOT WATER:Flat Panel Solar Hot water systems (5,4m²), with 300 litre internal storage

HEATING/COOLING: Pellet fire , 600W Heated towel rail

ECOLOGICAL FEATURES: 10,000 litres of potable water storage

MVHR Product Supplied by Fantech

ComfoAir Q350