The Future Is Passiv

Tincey is guided by a clear goal: to deliver exceptional results for those who trust him to build high-quality homes. “At Xon Construction, we always put our clients’ best interests at the centre of everything we do. That philosophy drives every decision we make on site, and it’s also what fuels the hours we’ve invested researching best-practice building methods from around the world,” Tincey says.

For him, it’s not just about completing the job, but about delivering homes with the best possible approach for the people who will live in them. “One approach consistently stood out: Passivhaus – internationally recognised as the benchmark for building performance, indoor air quality, energy efficiency and overall comfort. Passivhaus principles go far beyond minimum code requirements. They create homes that are healthier, quieter, more durable and vastly more energy efficient,” he explains.

THE PRINCIPLE

Put simply, Passivhaus is the gold standard for energy efficient new builds, while EnerPHit applies the same principles to renovations and retrofits. Because retrofitting involves working within the constraints of existing structures, the EnerPHit standard allows for slightly more flexibility. “Retrofitting to EnerPHit is significantly more complex than building to the Passivhaus standard from scratch. With new builds, we start with a blank canvas – we have complete control over the structure, orientation, airtightness, insulation and thermal bridging, which makes achieving the standard more straightforward. But EnerPHit retrofits call for more creativity, technical knowledge and problem-solving to meet the standard,” Tincey elaborates.

As with any reputable framework, Passivhaus comes with clear rules – and a dedicated planning package that makes them easy to follow and apply. “Using the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP), we can model exactly how a home will perform before a single piece of material is installed. This data-driven approach removes all the guesswork from building performance, allowing us to design and deliver homes based on science, rather than assumptions,” Tincey asserts.

What truly sets the package apart is its precision, making it an essential tool for anyone aiming to meet the standard.

Tincey adds, “PHPP also gives us precise performance targets for key areas like insulation, airtightness, glazing, thermal bridging and ventilation. This allows us to pinpoint exactly what needs upgrading to transform an ordinary house into a high-performance home.”

THE BUILD

In a recent project, Tincey put the package to the test, producing a state-of-art home that feels as good as it looks. He details, “the building was a standard Western Australia 1960 home with a 1990 addition. Double brick, tiled roof with a mix of concrete and timber floors. The original home had no insulation, single glazed windows and was extremely leaky. In winter the building was cold and damp, in summer the building was hot and uncomfortable, and draughts entered year-round.”

Every project comes with its challenges, and striving to meet such an ambitious standard brings its own unique set. “Two of the main challenges our team faced were meeting the airtightness requirement of less than 1 ACH@50 (as set by the EnerPHit standard) and achieving a fully continuous insulation layer around the entire building envelope. These aren’t elements that can be resolved with guesswork or shortcuts – they require meticulous planning and execution.” The team were pushed both creatively and technically, spending lengthy amounts of time in the office and on site in the sketching, modelling and refining phases. Tincey concludes, “it ultimately strengthened our systems and deepened our understanding of what it takes to deliver truly high-performance homes.”

THE BENEFITS

Undertaking an EnerPHit refit requires both financial and time commitments. Tincey states, “you’re not just updating finishes or layouts; you’re