Passive House_
What is Passive House?
A voluntary building performance standard for very high energy efficiency and thermal comfort that substantially reduces a building’s carbon footprint
- Detached Houses
- Duplexes
- Apartment Buildings
- Office Buildings
- Schools & Institutions
- Community Centres
- Grocery Stores
- Healthcare Facilities
- Indoor Pools
It's Global
As of January 2025, projects certified by the Passive House Institute comprise over 47,400 units worldwide
Performance
Versatility
Anywhere
ok, so what does it mean?
A Passive House is more than just a low-energy building.
Passive House buildings allow for heating and cooling related energy savings of up to 90% compared with typical building stock and over 75% compared with average new builds. Similar energy savings have been demonstrated in warm climates where buildings require more energy for cooling than for heating.
The 2024 British Columbia Building Code now requires better performance than houses built before, with the introduction of step code 3, and over time, will ultimately implement step code 5 which will bring home energy and carbon performance in line with the Passive House standard.
Passive House buildings are also praised for their high level of comfort. They use energy sources inside the building such as the body heat from the residents, indoor appliances or solar heat entering the building – making heating a lot easier, often requiring no heating system at all. Appropriate windows with good insulation and a building shell consisting of good insulated exterior walls, roof and floor slab keep the heat during winter – and keep it out during summer. A ventilation system consistently supplies fresh air making for superior air quality without causing any unpleasant draughts. This is a guarantee for low Radon levels and significantly improves the indoor air quality. A highly efficient heat recovery ventilator (HRV) allows for the heat contained in the exhaust air to be re-used, helping to keep energy costs way down.
The additional costs of building in energy efficiency pay for themselves over time, whereas exotic flooring and expensive appliances only date and depreciate.
a passive house has it all
Comfort
The Passive House Standard offers a new level of quality pairing a maximum level of comfort both during cold and warm months with reasonable construction costs – something that is repeatedly confirmed by Passive House residents.
Quality
Passive House buildings are praised for their efficiency due to their high level of insulation and their airtight design. Another important principle is “thermal bridge free design“: the insulation is applied without any “weak spots” around the whole building so as to eliminate cold corners as well as excessive heat losses. This method is another essential principle assuring a high level of quality and comfort in Passive House buildings while preventing damages due to moisture build up.
Ecology / Sustainability
Passive House buildings are eco-friendly by definition: They use extremely little primary energy, leaving sufficient energy resources for all future generations without causing any environmental damage. The additional energy required for their construction (embodied energy) is rather insignificant compared with the energy they save later on. It is rather worth mentioning though, that the Passive House standard provides this level of sustainability for anyone wishing to build a new construction or renovating an older one at an affordable price – A contribution to protecting the environment.
Affordabilty
Are Passive House buildings a good investment? Passive House buildings not only save money over the long term, but are surprisingly affordable to begin with. The investment in higher quality building components required by the Passive House Standard is mitigated by the elimination of expensive heating and cooling systems. Learn more about Passive Houses – affordability.
Measurement Results
Measurements carried out in 114 Passive House apartments which were part of the CEPHEUS project showed average savings of approx. 90%; since then, lots of realized passive houses have been monitored with convincing results. In other words, the Passive House is a “factor 10 house” which only uses one tenth of the energy used by average houses. PHPP software used during design accurately predicts performance before anything is built. The passive house concept delivers – the savings are real, there is no performance gap, real world results consistently prove it.
Versatility
By combining individual measures, almost any new building anywhere in the world can be designed to reach the Passive House Standard. The versatile Passive House Standard is also increasingly being used for non-residential buildings such as administrative buildings and schools. Most importantly, almost any building technique from regular stick frame, to straw bale or even concrete can achieve the performance and benefits of Passive House.
Passive House Institute
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