What makes your home truly comfortable

Three things most designs overlook - and why you should insist your design doesn’t

As we move into 2026, with better tools, deeper knowledge, and more experience in building comfortable homes, there is a growing awareness around home comfort. For many years, the industry has placed the responsibility for creating homes that perform better than the mandatory minimum at the feet of the public.

I have grown tired of hearing, “When the public ask for better, then we will do better.” My frustration lies in experts outsourcing responsibility for decisions that ultimately affect the very people who trust them to design and build their homes.

So, in that spirit, I have written this blog for anyone starting to engage with a design or build project. I am helping you—the public—to ask for better.

Here are three things to ask about, get curious about, and challenge in your designs.

1. The free sun factor

For years, the concept of passive solar design has been used to capture free gains from the sun. There is a solar design theory that by designing the width of eaves to block the sun at midday on the summer solstice and allow the sun in at midday on the winter solstice, we have done well.

This ignores the rest of the year. Not only the effect of morning and afternoon sun on our internal spaces, but also the seasonal variance we often see when the sun’s angle and height in the sky are the same. Spring and autumn have the same sun path, evident at the equinox, but very different conditions.

Our homes are spaces we wish to control to create a continuously comfortable environment, regardless of external conditions. Understanding what a design needs to deliver 365-day comfort is possible—but not through solar design theory alone. It requires energy modelling to assess not only how much insulation is needed for comfort, but also how to passively cool a space.

2. The fresh, healthy air factor

We have long been told to simply open a window to get fresh air. Like solar design theory, this may make logical sense on the surface. But design has to work with human behaviour.

Theoretical approaches are often historic and don’t account for the realities of everyday living. One of the problems with new homes is that we are using an old ventilation strategy to solve an increasingly new problem.

Only relying on opening doors and windows for fresh air ignores the reality that many homes are shut up for most of the day. Fresh air requires an active, continuous strategy. We also close up our homes during cooler days and nights, and for security reasons—whether we are home or not.

Opening windows and doors in the middle of winter is not a logical approach. We want fresh air all year round.

A ventilation strategy that operates regardless of human behaviour and regardless of external weather conditions must be considered during the design stage. This includes duct runs, space for units, and space for services that allow us to breathe fresh, healthy air year-round.

3. The moisture factor

No one wants a mouldy home. But as new homes become increasingly airtight due to commonly used products and systems, we are seeing an increase in internal moisture levels.

Only relying on extract fans in bathrooms and kitchens—which depend heavily on human behaviour—is only part of the solution. Extracted air needs replacement air; otherwise, fans work inefficiently and ineffectively. Relying on human behaviour also doesn’t ensure that enough extraction occurs to remove all airborne moisture.

We also generate moisture simply by living—through body heat, sweat, and breathing.

Considering internal humidity with a thoughtful and effective strategy not only protects surfaces from mould formation, but also protects hidden spaces inside walls, floors, and ceilings from unhealthy moisture levels.

The solution is not a single fix. Like internal comfort, this requires a whole-building approach—considering internal surface conditions, airtightness, and ventilation. None of these are properly addressed by the New Zealand Building Code, as they rely on design-based solutions rather than a legislative checklist.

Our homes are the greatest financial assets most of us will ever invest in. They are also the spaces that support our most valuable and underrated asset—our health and comfort.

Don’t leave your future investment to chance. Insist that these three factors are considered in your new or renovated home. The only place to ensure this is done correctly is at the design stage.

To book a call with me and discover whether a Design Consultation is the right next step for your project, choose a time that works for you using the link below:

If you’d like to understand exactly how a Design Consultation works, what it covers, and how it can help you start with confidence, you can learn more and book a suitable time here: