Homes in Bushland Park, New Zealand’s first Passive House neighbourhood are now on the market.
The three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes have been certified Passive House Plus, an independent international standard for incredibly energy efficient, healthy buildings.
Bushland Park is being built by Ethos Homes, Christchurch’s most experienced Passive House builders. The company was founded by Amanda and Peter Bielski in order to build better homes for Christchurch. “When our kids grow up, we want them to be able to buy or rent decent homes, ones that are dry, warm and healthy,” says Amanda. “We don’t want to add to the problem of New Zealand’s poor-quality housing. We want to be part of the solution and build homes where families can thrive. We specified and built these homes like they were our own.”
As a certified Passive House, these homes are incredibly well-insulated, with special triple-glazed joinery. There are no draughts, thanks to a quality building envelope, and a continuous ventilation system keeps air fresh.
“There’s lots of talk about ‘high-performance’ building, but independent certification provides certainty that the home will deliver on the benefits promised,” says Amanda.
“Temperatures indoors will stay at a stable and blissfully comfortable level all year around. These homes will use up to 90 percent less energy for heating and cooling, compared to a house built only to the Building Code minimum standard,” says Amanda.
Every step of the design and construction process has been carefully considered, taking into account not just energy efficiency, but quality, durability and value.
There are a host of additional features. These homes earn the Passive House Plus designation because of the recessed solar systems on the roof, grid-tied systems with a battery. Each home also has an EV charger.
“We’ve chosen top-quality materials that are natural and non-toxic, like wool insulation, natural paints and Abodo timber. That’s thermally modified NZ-grown wood, instead of chemically treated pine,” explains Amanda.
Residents of Bushland Park will have covenanted access to a private nature reserve and wetlands. The neighbourhood includes a Living Street, playground, barbecue and sports areas, all of which will foster a safe and friendly village atmosphere. These two homes are the beginning of an entire neighbourhood all targeting Passive House Plus certification and are built on what was formerly organic farmland. Construction on three larger homes will be starting next month.
