Category: Passivhaus Basics

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This is a Passivhaus Basics blog post that gives an overview of a specific aspect of the Passivhaus Standard.

The international Passivhaus Standard is a clearly defined and rigorous standard for energy efficiency, comfort and quality assurance of buildings. Designing a building to achieve the standard requires detailed knowledge and a rigorous methodical approach to design and documentation. To ensure this happens, it is possible to train and qualify as a Certified Passivhaus Designer or Consultant.

The route to certification is the same for a designer or a consultant. It is only the individual’s prior qualifications and experience that determines if they qualify as one or the other. For clarity, this post will only refer to a Certified Passivhaus Designer, but for all intents and purposes, ‘designer’ is interchangeable with ‘consultant’ in this context.

A Certified Passivhaus Designer, regardless of their prior qualification, works across disciplines on a Passivhaus project. Their role integrates architecture, structure, building services, building science, energy modeling and construction detailing. They will at times both support and challenge the other designers on a Passivhaus Project.

The Certified Passivhaus Designer on a project doesn’t need to be completely independent. They can also be the architect, structural engineer, building services engineer, or another consultant on the team. And the same person fulfilling two roles does have advantages. However, in many cases combining two roles requires more time and work than one individual has available. Regardless, it is best if the Certified Passivhaus Designer is an integral part of the design team rather than just an occasional consultant.

The Passivhaus Building Certifier must be independent of the design team.

A Certified Passivhaus Designer brings the detailed knowledge and rigorous methodical approach needed to design buildings to the international Passivhaus Standard.

043 What is a Passivhaus Designer

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This is a Passivhaus Basics blog post that gives an overview of a specific aspect of the Passivhaus Standard.

The Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) is one of the most powerful design tools available for designing low energy buildings. It can seem intimidating as an extensive programme of interlinked worksheets, typically used in Micorsoft Excel. However, when viewed worksheet by worksheet is it apparent how straightforward it is.

It is a necessary part of Passivhaus design, both for Passivhaus Designers and Consultants and for Passivhaus Building Certifiers. For designers, it is a useful tool at all stages as detail is gradually built up. And it provides a large degree of the all-critical quality assurance of the international Passivhaus Standard. And finally it is the tool used for certification of a Passivhaus Building.

At it’s most basic, the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) is a collection of clearly defined building physics algorithms. When the required information is entered, accurate reliable results are produced. And it continues to be developed as the Passivhaus Standard evolves and the world transitions towards a renewable energy future. (No matter how slow that transition might seem to be going currently!)

The Passive House Planning Package (PHPP): design tool, quality assurance tool and certification tool + all the essential building physics a low energy building needs.

040 What is the Passive House Planning Package PHPP?

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This is a Passivhaus Basics blog post that gives an overview of a specific aspect of the Passivhaus Standard.

Windows, doors, rooflights, curtain walling and any other glazed elements often lose (or gain) significantly more heat than the surrounding walls or roof of the thermal envelope. For this reason, the international Passivhaus Standard pays particularly close attention to the design and specification of glazed elements.

This blog post looks at Passivhaus Windows as these are usually the main glazed element of a Passivhaus building. Other glazed elements can be considered along similar lines.

Reducing heat loss conserves energy, but it’s not just about energy efficiency. Reducing heat loss is also about providing optimum comfort for the people using the building. This is, after all, what the international Passivhaus Standard is all about: providing exceptional comfort whilst being radically energy efficient.

The international Passivhaus Standard also provides healthy living environments. Passivhaus buildings have plentiful clean fresh air and are free from mould. And the rigorous quality assurance of the standard results in highly durable buildings.

Passivhaus Windows have an important role in all of these aspects: Energy Efficiency, Comfort, Health and Durability.

What is a Passivhaus Window?
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This is a Passivhaus Basics blog post that gives an overview of a specific aspect of the Passivhaus Standard.

The international Passivhaus Standard does not explicitly require mechanical ventilation. And yet almost every certified Passivhaus building includes a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery.

What is mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) and why is it needed in Passivhaus buildings?

Mechanical ventilation is familiar to most people. This leads to the assumption that a Passivhaus ventilation system is the same as other mechanical ventilation systems. It is not.

There are things that MVHR does not do. It is important to know what these are in order to understand the difference between Passivhaus MVHR and other types of ventilation.

And there are things that Passivhaus MVHR does do that other ventilation systems don’t, including ‘natural ventilation’. It is important to know what MVHR does do, as MVHR is vital to the consistent success of the passivhaus standard.

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) is key to delivering the benefits the Passivhaus Standard promises – radical energy efficiency and exceptional comfort.

036 What is Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR)?
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This is a Passivhaus Basics blog post that gives an overview of a specific aspect of the Passivhaus Standard.

Thermal bridges (sometimes referred to as “cold bridges”) in the building envelope have a measurable impact on energy efficiency and thermal comfort. The impact can be relatively low on buildings that are not very well insulated. However, with buildings that are well insulated and energy efficient, the relative impact of thermal bridging is significant.

Building regulations and codes are now starting to recognise this and in some places, it is required or recommended that thermal bridging be minimised.

The Passivhaus Standard recognises the importance of thermal bridges and the significant impact they can have on the high-performance Passivhaus building envelope. The Passivhaus Standard requires a continuous thermal envelope: this means thermal bridge free construction.

This blog post answers the following questions:

  • What is a thermal bridge?
  • What are the different types of thermal bridges?
  • Why are thermal bridges a problem?
  • What is thermal bridge free construction?

The Passivhaus Standard requires thermal bridge free construction to ensure a robust high-quality building envelope that delivers radical energy efficiency and exceptional comfort.

What is Thermal Bridge Free Construction
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