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Passive house
Passive House requirements
For a building to be considered a Passive House, it must meet the following criteria
- The Space Heating Energy Demand
is not to exceed 15 kWh per square meter of net living space (treated floor area) per year or 10 W per square meter peak demand.
In climates where active cooling is needed, the Space Cooling Energy Demand requirement roughly matches the heat demand requirements above, with a slight additional allowance for dehumidification. - The Primary Energy Demand, the total energy to be used for all domestic applications (heating, hot water and domestic electricity) must not exceed 120 kWh per square meter of treated floor area per year.
- In terms of Airtightness, a maximum of 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals pressure (ACH50), as verified with an onsite pressure test (in both pressurized and depressurized states).
- Thermal comfort must be met for all living areas during winter as well as in summer, with not more than 10 % of the hours in a given year over 25 °C. For a complete overview of general quality requirements (soft criteria).
Passive House buildings are planned, optimised and verified
with the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP).
All of the above criteria are achieved through intelligent design and implementation of the 5 Passive House principles:
thermal bridge free design, superior windows, ventilation with heat recovery, quality insulation and airtight construction.
The following basic principles apply for the construction
of Passive Houses:
Passive House certification criteria
Passive House is the world‘s leading standard in energy efficient construction
The Passive House Standard stands for quality, comfort and energy efficiency. Passive Houses require very little energy to achieve a comfortable temperature year round, making conventional heating and air conditioning systems obsolete. While delivering superior levels of comfort, the Passive House Standard also protects the building structure.
For a building to be considered a Passive House, it must meet the following criteria
| Space Heating Demand | not to exceed 15kWh annually OR 10W (peak demand) per square metre of usable living space |
| Space Cooling Demand | roughly matches the heat demand with an additional, climate-dependent allowance for dehumidification |
| Primary Energy Demand | not to exceed 120kWh annually for all domestic applications (heating, cooling, hot water and domestic electricity) per square meter of usable living space |
| Airtightness | maximum of 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals pressure (as verified with an onsite pressure test in both pressurised and depressurised states) |
| Thermal Comfort | Thermal comfort must be met for all living areas year-round with not more than 10% of the hours in any given year over 25°C* |
The definitive criteria for the certification of Passive House components
and Passive Houses are set by the Passive House Institute.
- Passive House and EnerPHit retrofit building criteria
- Passive House Component certification criteria
- breakdown of "soft" criteria for Passive House buildings
The definitive criteria for the certification of Passive House components
and Passive Houses are set by the Passive House Institute.
Planning
Passive House buildings are planned, optimised and verified with the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP).
Certification
This checklist may make it easier for your building to achieve the Passive House Standard by outlining the most important steps in the process.
Advantages of certification
While a Passive House building does not need to be certified to be considered a Passive House, certification provides an important and visible form of quality assurance.