Tag: Ventilation

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In many parts of the world, we take it for granted that we have access to clean air. Or at least we think we do. As we improve the quality of our homes and other buildings, we are starting to get a more realistic picture of what we are breathing in along with our supposed clean air.

Air pollution has a significant and pervasive impact on public health. According to the World Health Organization, it is now considered “the world’s largest single environmental health risk,” with more than three million people dying every year as a result. This is more than twice the number of people that die in vehicle accidents each year.

Is your ‘clean air’ really clean and healthy?

051 Passivhaus Bioweapon Defence
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Passivhaus overheating shouldn’t happen: it’s one of the criteria of the international Passivhaus standard.

Even so, people sometimes ignore this requirement during the early stages of the design process.

It shouldn’t be ignored. Overheating is a key design issue and should be addressed from the beginning as an integral part of the Passivhaus design process.

But how?

This blog post is a simple guide to preventing Passivhaus overheating by design.

047 Passivhaus Overheating Design

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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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A passivhaus home in almost all climates across the world will include a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR*). This kind of ventilation system is required for both energy efficiency and for comfort. However, to many people this is an intimidating and misunderstood aspect of passivhaus. As a result, there are various concerns and misconceptions about what a passivhaus ventilation system is and how you use it.

To address some of these issues I have enlisted the help of Zehnder, a global supplier of Passivhaus Certified ventilation systems. In this post, we explore the following aspects of a residential passivhaus ventilation system:

  1. How do I control the ventilation system?
  2. What day-to-day interaction do I need to have with the ventilation system?
  3. What is the boost function and when should I use it?
  4. When should I switch the ventilation system off?

Rupert Kazlauciunas, Senior Technical Advisor at Zehnder Group UK, very kindly provided answers to my questions

In a residential passivhaus, the ventilation system can be simple to use. It will save energy and money, while ensuring comfort and excellent indoor air quality.

029 Residential Passivhaus Ventilation System
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Our baby was born early in April, just as Spring is arriving here in the northern hemisphere.

Our house isn’t a passivhaus home.

There are many reason’s why we don’t yet live in a passivhaus home, but that isn’t the subject of this blog post. Now with a new baby as well as our toddler, even more so than before, I wish we did live in a passivhaus home. I care very deeply about the comfort and health of our children. And knowing first-hand the benefits of the Passivhaus Standard, I am acutely aware of what we are missing out on.

Affordable to run, comfortable and healthy to live in, passivhaus homes are ideally suited to young families. Of course, passivhaus homes are ideally suited for all people to live in! However, young children are particularly vulnerable and in need of comfortable and healthy homes. And with the cost of bring up children, parents need a comfortable and healthy home to be affordable.

Sustainable and environmental design are often talked about in terms of the benefit for future generations. Unfortunately, despite the good intentions, this can be abstract and vague. The Passivhaus Standard, on the other hand, is a practical immediate solution that benefits the next generation, today.

The Passivhaus Standard ensures homes are comfortable, healthy and affordable to run. Passivhaus homes are of immediate benefit to next generation: our children.

024 Passivhaus for the kids
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