This home is constructed with SIPs. Aside from the huge insulation properties, the panel’s strength allows a large span so the living area is open with minimal additional structural requirements. The SIPs themselves, along with specific tapes and seals, have contributed to a very effective airtight envelope. The other factors are its simple design and the building team’s quality workmanship and expertise in passive homes. At the pre-line stage, the airtightness was tested using a ‘Blower Door Test’. It measured just 0.39 air changes an hour. A great result considering certified passive homes must be 0.6 ac/hr or less. This will reduce further once completed. This will mean the Zehnder mechanical heat recovery system can work very efficiently.
The house design underwent PHPP testing (Passive House Planning Package) allowing its performance to be verified at the design stage. This meant adjustments could be made if required to improve its performance, or performance benefits of changes could be measured against their cost, so qualified decisions could be made.
One challenge successfully overcome is the homeowner’s location in Australia. The entire design and build process has been undertaken through online meetings, regular communication, and our popular online job management system. Even our fortnightly client site meetings have been done online with the owners being ‘walked’ around their property and items discussed. Only last week they had their real time ‘electrical walk-through’ with our Sparky.
