A passive house is an energy-efficient building that has year-round comfort and good indoor climate without the use of active space heating or cooling systems. The space heating requirement is reduced by means of passive measures to the point that there is no longer any need for a conventional heating system.
A passive house provides very high levels of thermal comfort and an even temperature throughout the building. Passive houses are usually light and bright due to large glazed areas designed to optimise solar gains, and are healthy to live and work in due to fresh air supplied by the ventilation system.
The appearance of a passive house does not need to differ from a conventional house.
Passivhaus is a voluntary construction standard developed by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany. The standard can be met using a variety of design strategies, construction methods and technologies and is applicable to almost any building type.
Since the first Passivhaus dwelling was build in 1991, this standard has been succesfully implemented in tens of thousands of residential and commercial buildings across Europe
How it works
Passive house relates to the way a building is heated:
Conventional buildings need active heating by means of burning oil, gas, wood or coal, or by electricity, either directly or indirectly by heat pumps.
Passive houses heat passively by means of energy conservation and by utilizing internal heat sources and solar gains.
The principle is like the comparison between a coffee machine and a thermos flask: both keep your coffee hot but one consumes energy and the other keeps the heat inside.
That's why a passive house has very well insulated shell and uses ventilation with heat recovery.
The Standard
Passivhaus or Passive (Energy) House is a voluntary industry standard that results in buildings that require little or no energy use for heating or cooling, have excellent internal thermal comfort and low primary energy use.
The standard is achieved by meeting targets for:
• Space heating demand of less than 15 kWh/m²/year
• Maximum heating load of 10 W/m²
• Cooling demand of less than 15 kWh/m²/year
• Primary energy use of less than 120 kWh/m²/year (heating, lighting, domestic hot water, appliances)
• As-built air tightness of less than 0.6 ach-1 @ 50Pa [~1.5m³/(m²h)]
• U-values for opaque elements (walls, ground floor, roof): max. 0.15 W/(m²K)
• U-values for windows (total for frame and glazing): max. 0.8 W/(m²K)
• Construction free of thermal bridging, Psi max.= 0.01 W/(mK)
Compliance with these targets is verified using the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP2007) throughout the design and construction process.
The Passivhaus or Passive Energy House approach is proven to work and is now widespread. Since the first Passive Energy House was built in Germany in 1991 there are now about 20,000 Passive Energy Houses across Europe. In the UK there are several schemes being build or in planning as well.
Most Passive Energy House buildings are residential dwellings, but there are also schools, offices, sports centres, shopping malls, care homes, fire stations, museums and factories built to this standard.
It is also possible to upgrade existing stock to Passive standard.
The Passive Energy House is designed to ensure that owners and tenants get outstanding performance.
• Internal pollutants are minimized and constant fresh air is supplied, ensuring excellent indoor air quality
• Greenhouse gas emissions are reduced in construction and operation
• Minimised operational costs (heating costs are reduced to approximately a tenth of the existing stock)
• Overheating risk is minimised through advanced thermal modelling
• An approach is taken which aligns with the Code for Sustainable Homes requirements
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