Passive House performance cannot be established from a product checklist alone. Insulation, windows, shading, thermal bridges, airtightness, ventilation and building services affect one another and must be considered as part of the complete building energy balance.

The Passive House Planning Package, commonly referred to as PHPP, provides the calculation framework for bringing those elements together. It can be introduced during early design, refined as the documentation develops and updated to reflect the information required for the intended project pathway.

This article focuses specifically on PHPP and its modelling role. For the wider building standard, five principles, Australian climate application and delivery process, see the Passive House in Australia Knowledge Hub.

Passive House costs are often described as though the standard adds a fixed percentage to an otherwise identical home. In practice, the comparison is rarely that simple. Building form, glazing, structural systems, finishes, site conditions and documentation quality may differ before the Passive House scope is considered.

The additional project scope may include PHPP modelling, more resolved envelope assemblies, higher-performance windows, airtightness detailing, thermal-bridge coordination, controlled ventilation, testing and independent certification. The cost effect of those items depends on how early they are integrated and whether the base project already represents a high-quality residential build.

This article focuses specifically on cost formation and cost control. For the wider standard, principles, climate application and project pathway, see the Passive House in Australia Knowledge Hub.

NatHERS is Australia’s national home energy-rating framework. Its thermal assessment models the predicted heating and cooling needs of a dwelling and expresses the result as a star rating between zero and ten. NatHERS assessments are commonly used to help demonstrate residential energy-efficiency requirements under the National Construction Code, subject to the pathway adopted in the relevant state or territory.

Passive House is a separate voluntary building standard. It combines energy balancing through the Passive House Planning Package, known as PHPP, with defined requirements relating to the building envelope, airtightness, windows, thermal bridges, controlled ventilation and construction verification.

This comparison focuses on where the systems overlap and where their boundaries differ. For a complete explanation of each framework, see the NatHERS Knowledge Hub and the Passive House in Australia guide.