HIGH PERFORMANCE HOMES
The Principles that create Healthy, Comfortable, Energy Efficient Living
THE PRINCIPLES
These principles work together as a complete system—the essential building blocks of a home that is comfortable, efficient, healthy, and built to perform for you every day.
.jpg)
.jpg)
Design
Design is the most vital principals of a high-performance home. While designing a home that works with its environment—not against it—is essential, the process always begins with something even more important: you, the client. We believe the most successful high-performance homes are those designed around the people who live in them.
At High Performance Homes, we pride ourselves on working closely with our clients to create homes that are not only beautiful, but healthier, more comfortable, and highly energy efficient. Every design is a collaboration, resulting in a home that supports your wellbeing while delivering outstanding performance.
Before insulation, airtightness, high-performance windows and doors, or ventilation systems are even considered, good design and correct orientation lay the foundation for energy efficiency. Careful site orientation allows the home to take advantage of natural solar gain—capturing the low winter sun to warm the home naturally, while incorporating shading to limit overheating from the high summer sun.
Thoughtful design ensures that windows, walls, and the roof are positioned where they can perform at their best. Each high-performance home is carefully designed to balance window sizes, shading, and thermal mass, helping to maintain stable indoor temperatures throughout the year. When a home is designed correctly from the outset, it requires significantly less energy to remain comfortable. Good design and orientation work hand-in-hand with insulation, airtightness, and high-performance windows and doors, reducing the demand for heating and cooling.
Design also influences daylight, airflow, and temperature consistency. Well-oriented homes benefit from abundant natural light, improved airflow, and fewer hot or cold spots—creating a comfortable, healthy living environment that performs as beautifully as it looks.
"$8O.
That was for 3 years!"
Heather from Kinloch
After three years living in her high-performance home in Taupō, Heather received her very first power bill — just $80 — a powerful testament to the home’s exceptional energy efficiency and design.
High Insulation
Many homes across New Zealand have inadequate insulation — the root cause of excess moisture, higher energy bills, and potential health concerns. The key to a warm, dry, and efficient home begins with the right foundation: an expertly insulated concrete slab. Designed to keep your home warmer in winter and cooler in summer, quality insulation sets the stage for comfort all year round.
At the heart of every high-performance home is an insulated slab. That’s why we’re proud to partner with MAXRaft®, a trusted leader in foundation insulation systems. MAXRaft designs and manufactures insulated slabs that not only meet but exceed New Zealand Building Code requirements — helping prevent dampness, reduce mould growth, and create healthier living environments.
Built to last the lifetime of your home, MAXRaft® slabs deliver exceptional energy efficiency and performance from the foundation up.
_png.jpg)
Air tight Enclosure
Airtightness describes how well a building is sealed to prevent unwanted air from entering or escaping through cracks, gaps, or openings. An airtight home is carefully designed and constructed to minimise uncontrolled air movement through the walls, roof, floor, and joinery.
At High Performance Homes, we are proud to partner with Pro Clima, a global leader in high-performance airtightness and sealing systems. Pro Clima develops advanced solutions that protect thermal insulation during construction, helping to create healthy, durable, and energy-efficient homes worldwide. Airtightness is one of the most effective ways to improve a home’s energy performance, and Pro Clima specialises in this critical area.
Insulation works by trapping air. When insulation is properly protected by a Pro Clima airtight envelope, air movement is controlled and the insulation can perform as intended. Effective airtightness can increase insulation performance by up to 80%. Any uncontrolled airflow through a home significantly reduces insulation efficiency, making the quality of the airtight envelope essential to overall building performance.
Airtightness helps maintain a stable indoor temperature, keeping warmth inside your home rather than allowing it to escape into the atmosphere. This reduces energy waste and lowers heating costs, while improving comfort year-round.
Airtightness can be accurately measured, providing clear, reliable evidence of the performance and quality of your home.
High Performance Windows and Doors
Windows and doors are often the weakest point in a home’s thermal performance, which is why high-performance windows and doors are vital for an energy-efficient home. They play a key role in controlling heat loss and heat gain, supporting airtightness, and ultimately enhancing the overall performance of your insulation. Energy-efficient windows and doors reduce the need for constant heating or cooling, resulting in lower power bills and a more comfortable, better-performing home.
At High Performance Homes, we are proud to partner with Starke, a company that designs and manufactures uPVC windows and doors with a strong focus on energy efficiency, durability, and airtightness. Their products are designed to perform as an integral part of the building envelope, working in harmony with high-quality insulation and airtight construction.
Designed in Germany and manufactured in New Zealand, Starke windows and doors deliver outstanding thermal performance, excellent airtightness, durability, and security. Starke uPVC contains approximately 55% recycled content, making it a more environmentally responsible choice without compromising performance. uPVC windows have been the standard choice in Europe, the UK, and North America for over 50 years, and they are now becoming the future of joinery in New Zealand.
Ventilation with Heat Recovery
Ventilation with heat recovery is a key principle of a high-performance home. These homes are built to be very airtight, which improves energy efficiency and comfort—but it also means fresh air cannot naturally leak in or out. Without a proper ventilation system, air quality can quickly suffer.
That’s why high-performance home’s uses a Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation (MHRV) system.
An MHRV system continuously removes stale air from the home while bringing in fresh air from outside. As it does this, it recovers heat from the warm air leaving the house and transfers it to the fresh air coming in. This keeps the home fresh and healthy without wasting heat. High-quality systems can recover 70–90% of this heat, helping to reduce heating demand and energy bills.
Everyday activities like cooking, showering, and even breathing produce moisture. A typical three-person household can release around 10 litres of water vapour per day into the air. In an airtight home, this moisture can build up quickly, leading to condensation, mould, and long-term damage if not properly controlled.
An MHRV system safely removes this moisture-laden air and replaces it with fresh, filtered air, maintaining comfort while keeping the home airtight and highly energy efficient. The built-in filters also remove dust and pollen—reducing pollen levels by up to 95%—making the home more comfortable for allergy sufferers.
In short, MHRV systems are essential to making a home truly high-performance: healthier air, better comfort, and high energy efficiency, all working together.
Learn more - Check out our blogs
