Passive Home Builder
The Hills Sydney
The Hills has some of Sydney's biggest temperature swings and some of its largest family homes. Passive house solves both problems: 22 degrees year-round, on a fraction of the energy.
Why The Hills needs passive house
The Hills District sits in Western Sydney, where summer temperatures regularly hit 35 to 40 degrees and winter mornings drop well below 10 degrees. The temperature range is significantly greater than the coast, and the homes in the area are large, typically four to six bedrooms. A large home in this climate can run up high energy bills staying comfortable. A passive house at the same size spends a fraction of that, without any reduction in comfort.
A passive house in Castle Hill or Kellyville maintains 22 degrees year-round mainly through the insulated, airtight envelope rather than by constantly running air conditioning. The HRV system continuously supplies fresh filtered air without the energy cost of running a ducted system. For a family in a large Hills home, this is not a marginal benefit. It changes how the whole house feels to live in.
KDR in the established Hills suburbs
Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, and parts of Kellyville have a well-established KDR market. Homes built from the 1970s through to the 1990s on generous blocks are being replaced by quality-focused families who want to stay in the area. The blocks in these suburbs are typically large enough to allow a well-oriented passive house design without the constraints of a narrow inner-city lot.
Mo Amin's site investigation process for a Hills KDR covers heritage status (less common here than inner Sydney but worth checking), tree preservation orders, stormwater requirements, and the correct approval pathway. Many The Hills Shire Council sites are CDC-eligible, which means faster approvals and less council interaction.
Master-planned estates and passive house
Parts of The Hills, particularly Rouse Hill, Kellyville, and Bella Vista, were developed as master-planned estates with design guidelines imposed by the original developer. These guidelines typically govern external materials, roof pitch, and street presentation. They do not prevent passive house construction. A passive house can have a conventional facade while incorporating the double-glazed windows, continuous insulation, and airtight membrane that PHI certification requires.
The passive house design works within the external constraints of each site, and every certified build is independently certified to the Passive House standard by a third-party PHI-accredited certifier. The performance outcomes are the same regardless of the external presentation requirements.
The Hills and the Norwest Business Park precinct
The Hills District has a large professional population connected to the Norwest Business Park and the health precincts around Bella Vista and Westmead. Families in this precinct typically value quality, understand the difference between a well-built home and a standard one, and are making long-term decisions about where their family lives. The passive house proposition, lower running costs, better health outcomes, and a home built to last 50 years, aligns well with this demographic.
Marvel Homes builds five to eight homes a year by choice, across Greater Sydney. A tight team does the work and Mo and Ibrahim are across every one. If The Hills is your location, we are familiar with the area and ready to discuss your site.
Certified passive houses across Sydney, designed for this city's climate and the way we live here.
Common questions
Do you build in The Hills District?
Yes. Marvel Homes builds across The Hills Shire Council area, including Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, Kellyville, Rouse Hill, Bella Vista, Norwest, and Glenhaven. The Hills District has a strong mix of established suburbs with KDR opportunities and newer estates where quality-conscious owners want to build better than the standard project home. We handle the full project from feasibility and approvals through to passive house construction and certification.
Why is passive house particularly valuable in The Hills?
The Hills District experiences some of Sydney's most extreme temperature variation: hot summers with temperatures regularly above 35 degrees, and cold winter mornings in the five to ten degree range. A passive house in Castle Hill or Kellyville maintains 22 degrees year-round through its insulated, airtight envelope, so it holds that temperature on far less heating and cooling than a home this size would normally require, with a substantial reduction in ongoing energy bills. Families in The Hills typically have larger homes and larger energy bills. Passive house solves both problems.
Is knock-down rebuild active in The Hills District?
Yes. The older areas of Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills, and parts of Kellyville have a well-established KDR market. Properties built in the 1970s to 1990s on generous blocks are being replaced with high-quality custom homes by owners who want to stay in the area but outgrow the existing dwelling. The larger blocks common in The Hills make passive house design particularly effective: there is more freedom in orientation, plan configuration, and the placement of north-facing glazing.
How does The Hills Shire Council handle new home approvals?
Many Hills Shire sites are CDC-eligible under the Housing SEPP, allowing approval through a private certifier without council notification. This is the faster and more predictable path for straightforward new homes. Sites that do not meet CDC standards, or sites in areas with heritage listings or significant tree constraints, require a DA. Mo Amin confirms the correct approval pathway at the site investigation stage for every Hills Shire project.
Can you build a passive house in a master-planned estate like Rouse Hill or Kellyville?
Yes, with some planning. Master-planned estates in The Hills often have design guidelines or restrictive covenants imposed by the original developer that govern the appearance of homes. These guidelines typically address external materials, roof pitch, and street presentation. A passive house can meet these guidelines while still incorporating the thermal envelope, double-glazed windows, and airtight construction that PHI certification requires. Mo reviews the relevant design guidelines at the site investigation stage.
Warrawee, Upper North Shore Sydney. Passive house on a large sloping block with solar and pool. The kind of result we target for Hills District sites.
Building in The Hills District?
Tell us about your block and what you want to build. We will be straight with you about what is achievable and what it will cost.
See how we build