Passive House Builders
Hello, I am Ricki and along with my wife Michelle, we are the owners of Passive House Builders.
I came to NZ from Niue as a teenager for more opportunities and a better life. Instead, I had to battle through winter like most kiwis do. Seeing people around me take sick days off work and studies and making a bee line to see a doctor.
I was left wondering what was better about this life compared to what I had in Niue?
Fast forward 20 years, and nothing’s changed. In fact it’s actually worse. We’re short of houses and short on quality homes in most parts of New Zealand. We have elderly people who’ll stay in bed all day all winter because it’s too cold to live in their house.
In known cases, over 1600 deaths are attributed to cold houses each winter in New Zealand. There is considerable evidence that a significant proportion of hospital admissions for children are preventable through decreasing their exposure to modifiable risk factors. Housing quality has been well established as an important determinant of health in children.
New Zealand research shows that exposure to crowded, cold, damp and mouldy housing and second-hand smoke (SHS) all contribute markedly to childhood diseases, notably rheumatic fever, asthma and lower respiratory tract infections.
Despite New Zealand being a relatively prosperous nation, its indicators of child health and safety are some of the lowest in the OECD.
As owners of Passive House Builders, I’m very fortunate to be in a position where I can help make a change in building better performing homes and teaching our people that we can live in better homes.
Through science research we can now build healthy, comfortable and energy efficient homes that will break the cycle and change the way we live. It’s not only your biggest investment, but it is also for the many people that will make it their home after you.
The very first Passive House was built in Germany over 30 years ago and there are now hundreds of thousands of homes like these around the world. There are 24 Passive Houses in NZ already. One of the first was built in Raglan and they’re proud to tell us that their heating power bill is around $200 per annum.
I can’t tell you enough how excited I am about my mission to make a difference, by creating a building company that builds a future where our people live healthy and comfortable for very little cost for generations to come.
We can do this together.
My business and house building philosophies are the foundations of who I am and what I believe in. Being the best person that I can be, lead by example and care for others.