15 years on – how the first eHaus is performing in 2025

As part of our 15^th birthday celebrations, we visited three of our original clients to see firsthand the impact their homes have had on their lives and check how the homes are performing after all this time. Here is the first of three client stories, make sure you check out the other stories too.

Ian and Heather live in the first eHaus developed and built in 2010 as a prototype, used to test the theory of Passive House and the newly developed New Zealand climate data. While Ian and Heather weren’t involved in the design and build process, they have lived there since 2013.

Ian and Heather were farmers in their younger days, living in a drafty and cold house on a farm that had been in their family for over 140 years. When they retired, they moved to a much warmer home on a lifestyle block that still had plenty of room for their much-loved animals.

They lived there for 14 years and never intended on moving into town. Ian attended an eHaus event at the prototype and his friends who also visited loved the home so much, they convinced the pair that they needed to buy it. They were reluctant to move initially as there was no space for their animals, but the move into town and a high-performing home made sense to them.

Ian became a bus driver after leaving the farm and was previously involved in the local government. Both are passionate about gardening, to the extent that Ian has become the unofficial caretaker for the council reserve next door. When they moved in, the reserve was overgrown and unloved. The council mowed it, but the garden was neglected. Ian lovingly tidied it up and planted rhododendrons, magnolias, hydrangeas and more, along with mowing it regularly, for the neighbours to enjoy.

They are very settled in their eHaus and have always appreciated the ambience and warmth it provides. “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. Ian adds “it’s quiet and you can’t hear the cars outside. When I was young, I had asthma, but not anymore.”

Performance

15 years on, this prototype is still performing incredibly well. Their home has a predicted heat energy saving of 87% and as of 10 March 2025, has saved 40,090kg of carbon! It is classified as a PHI Low Energy home, which targets one air change per hour (1AC n50) or less to maintain high energy efficiency. When we visited Ian and Heather, we retested the airtightness of their home, and after 15 years, it still has a result of 1.1 air changes per hour – an amazing result given the age of the home! Ian says, “our power bills are typically between $140-$160 and have never been over $200”.