Why young couple chose their first home to be pioneering and passive

Very few first-home buyers opt for a fully certified passive house because they’re scrambling for a deposit and feel they could get more house for their money without the extra costs associated with building the most energy-saving home.

But Sam Holt, 29 and Ashleigh Weir, 26, of Oamaru knew they were in it for the long haul and wanted a sustainable, energy-saving, healthy home that would be comfortable all year round.

Sam learned about passive houses not long after leaving high school, and as an engineer with a technical mind, thought it was a “neat concept”. When he and Ashleigh, a technologist, met in Oamaru a short time later, he introduced her to the idea.

They are now creating a stir as their home – built by eHaus Waitaki – is the first certified passive house built in the region.

“We knew the building cost was greater and that we would have to reduce the size of the house to meet the budget, which we did,” Holt says.

They admit cost increases of building materials between the time the house was designed and completed led to overruns.

“Originally, the house was going to cost us $650,000, including the land, which was $175,000,” Holt says. “But we ended up around $850,000, although that includes the double garage that was not part of the original quote.”

“We reduced the amount of wood we used on the outside of the house when we saw the costs getting up,” Weir says.

And for that money, their home is airtight, ventilated mechanically, fitted with triple-glazed, high-performance glass, a fully insulated concrete pad, and a Stiebel Eltron hot water heat pump.

The couple has energy costs of around $80 a month, and much of that is the line charge. Mike Lowe of eHaus Euro says it is delivering an impressive 91% heat energy savings.

“Winter was so different from what we’re used to, not having to worry about the cold or condensation on the inside of the windows,” Holt says. “We’re looking forward to summer to feel the heat difference between inside and outside.”

The couple says the inside temperature never drops below 18C and they have not had to turn on heaters because they’ve been shivering. “We have put the heat pump on a couple of times because we couldn’t be bothered putting on more clothes,” Weir says.

Holt and Weir say they also love the significant reduction in noise pollution, the healthier air quality, and the “refreshing comfort” of entering a perfectly temperature-controlled home.

“Winter was so different from what we’re used to, not having to worry about the cold or condensation on the inside of the windows,”

Sam HOlt

Holt says they are hoping to inspire others to choose this way of building: “I would like to see more homes built healthier like this or similar. I think it will help with reducing the high rates of respiratory conditions and other issues that a normal home can produce if not tended to.”

While they hope to live the passive house lifestyle forever, they don’t rule out the possibility of building a second one to increase the stock. “If we build a second home, someone else gets to buy and live in this one.”

Mike Lowe, managing director of eHaus Waitaki says every eHaus is designed and constructed to perform, but not all are designed and constructed to perform to the same level. An eHaus Euro and Passive House is the premium performance option.

“The eHaus Euro can maintain a minimum temperature of 20C using up to 15kWh per m² for an entire year. Comparatively, a typical NZ standard-code home would require at least 120kWh per m² to maintain a similar temperature for a year.”

He says the mechanical heat recovery system removes up to 98% of pollutants, which makes it ideal for those who suffer asthma and allergies.