15 years of eHaus: Proving home performance stands the test of time

At the start of 2010, no one in New Zealand was building homes to the Passive House standard. In March 2025 eHaus marks their 15^th birthday, celebrating 15 years of building homes that outperform the norm - whether to full Passive House certification or the high-performing eHaus Euro and eHaus Pacific standards.

Two of the founders, Jon Iliffe and Baden Brown were among the first to sit and pass the Passive House Certified Designer exam in NZ, and we provided the energy modelling and consultation for the first ever certified Passive House in New Zealand in 2010.

Starting out in Whanganui, eHaus quickly grew with new homes completed in Taranaki and Wairarapa in 2011. The early days of eHaus involved numerous home shows and educating people about the health, comfort and energy efficiency of high-performing homes. Our journey included designing and building New Zealand’s first certified Passive House Plus, winning multiple Master Builder House of the Year awards around the country, collaborating on New Zealand’s first certified Passive House co-housing development, and several TV interviews.

To celebrate our birthday, we have reconnected with some of our original eHaus clients to see firsthand the positive impact their homes have had on their lives and check how the homes are performing after all this time.

Ian and Heather have lived in the first eHaus since 2013, which was built in 2010 as a Passive House prototype, and have always appreciated its warmth and ambience. “It’s a special feeling living here. It stays clean, so I don’t have to dust, and we don’t get colds now days” says Heather. Even after 15 years, their home remains highly efficient, with an 87% predicted heat energy saving and 40,090kg of carbon saved as of March 2025. Retesting confirmed its airtightness at 1.1 air changes per hour - an impressive result for its age. Their power bills remain low, typically between $140-$160 and never exceeding $200.

Verena and Rudolf designed and built Taranaki’s first eHaus in 2012, drawing inspiration from their Swiss heritage, where energy-efficient homes were the norm. Their eHaus Euro was modelled to achieve 94% heat energy savings and has saved 57,276kg of carbon to date. The initial airtightness test returned an impressive 0.38 air changes per hour, and more than a decade later, a retest showed just a slight change to 0.51 AC n50, proving its enduring performance. “It feels comfortable. It’s not moist, and there’s no condensation,” says Verena.

Jeff and Renate moved into their eHaus Euro in 2013, determined to improve on their past homes in the UK and New Zealand. With a predicted heat energy saving of 95%, their Whanganui home has already saved 42,480kg of carbon. Their 5KW solar panels and solar thermal hot water system drastically reduce costs, with a July 2024 power bill of just $138 and only $23 in January 2025, including charging their EV. Jeff sums it up:

“If you’re thinking of building a new home, then building a standard house is the worst decision you could ever make. Build a high performing home!”

Jeff Williams, eHaus home owner

While it may seem incredible that these eHaus’ are still performing so well after 12-15 years with minimal maintenance and providing the inhabitants with a comfy home every day, to eHaus Directors Jon, Baden and Glenda, it comes as absolutely no surprise.

“As a builder, I saw firsthand how normal New Zealand homes failed to perform. These stories from our early clients are exactly what we expected. They show that an eHaus isn’t just a short-term fix for cold and damp living conditions - it’s a long-term solution for better, healthier homes that need less energy.” says Baden.

Before eHaus, Baden and Glenda owned their own building company, building homes to the minimum building code, and Jon was a mechanical engineer for Rolls Royce. They were disillusioned with the poor performance of supposedly high-end quality homes in New Zealand, so they came together, seeking better solutions. Having been through the PHINZ training and being involved in over 150 high performing eHaus’ since then, they now know that applying smart building science and measuring the performance through energy modelling at the design stage, results in a home that will actually last – and perform well – forever.

“Fifteen years ago, we set out to prove that homes in New Zealand could be built to a much higher standard - homes that were not just warm and dry, but really energy efficient, comfortable, and healthy to live in. Today, our clients’ experiences and latest testing speaks for itself.”

Jon, eHaus Director

We will be sharing more of these clients stories in up-coming blogs, so check back throughout March for more details.