Minus four outside? No worries in one of Tasmania's first 'Passive Houses'

Updated a month ago by Hamish Geale

At one home in Hadspen, it's 20 degrees the whole year round, and the air conditioner has 362 days off every year.

This is one of Northern Tasmania's first Passive Houses.

A world-leading standard built on five key principles, Passive Houses are notable for being airtight, low-tox, and 90 per cent more energy efficient than a normal home.

Completed homes are subject to rigorous reviews and testing before receiving the prized Passive House certification plaque.

Sam Mathew, of SM Building, said he and his team noticed a huge difference even during construction.

"We were doing this in the middle of winter and had the airtight layer in," he said.

"You probably get minus four, minus five out here at Hadspen - as soon as you walk in, open the door you can take your jumper off, be in a T-shirt and it's not even a finished product at that stage.

"Throughout the build every different stage, you can just feel the difference. That kept us energised."

Passive Houses first hit Australia in 2011, and are only just taking off in the Apple Isle.

The two-bedroom unit at 2/7 Baron Street is one of only a handful of Passive Houses in Tasmania, following others in Scamander and Hobart.

Mr Mathew said he had been inspired to build the home after completing the Passive House course and contending with family health issues.

"Going through that, I decided if we could build healthier homes for everyone to live in and potentially stop someone else going through the same things we went through, we thought it was a no-brainer," he said.

"Once you do the course you learn all these things you could probably should be doing better, and in your head you can't go back.

"It's been challenging in terms of retraining a lot of the things we've learnt and [learning] new details, but I wouldn't change any of it."

Mr Mathew is in the process of designing another Passive House for a client.

In the meantime, the Hadspen unit has hit the market with McGrath Launceston's Josh Hart.

It has a price guide of $665,000 to $725,000.

"Credit to Sam's team for stepping out and not doing the same old stock standard, but actually wanting to change the industry for the better, and for the consumer," Mr Hart said.

"These homes are 90 per cent more energy efficient, so there's two benefits there - firstly for the consumer in regards to saving money, secondly from an environmental point of view.

"Then you look at it from a liveability point of view ... it's such a clean temperature, but we do have constant airflow going through.

"Quality of life for the consumer is going to be far greater and more enjoyable."