The focus of my next few blogs will be Passive House and for two good reasons: firstly Koru is now able to offer fully calculated passive house designs using PHPP software and secondly, I definitely see Passive House as the future of house building, not only to save energy, but to provide high performance homes.
So what is Passive House? Also known as Passivhaus, it's a rigorous and energy-efficient building standard that originated in Germany in the early 1990's. It aims to create buildings that have minimal energy requirements for heating and cooling while maintaining a high level of indoor comfort. However I much prefer this description of a passive house that I discovered out of curiosity when I asked the artificial intelligence tool 'Chat GPT' to explain the concept of Passive House to my children. This is the delightful explanation it came back with ....
"Imagine a passive house as a super-duper cozy and magical home that doesn't need a lot of extra help to stay warm or cool. It's like a wizard's house that uses special tricks to stay just the right temperature all year round. One of the coolest tricks is how it's built. The walls, roof, and windows are like a big, thick blanket, keeping the inside just the way you like it. In the winter, it keeps the warm air inside, and in the summer, it keeps the hot air outside. But that's not all! A passive house also has special windows and doors that don't let the cold or hot air sneak in. It's like having a magical force field to protect the inside. To make sure you always have fresh air to breathe, a passive house has a secret system that brings in clean air and makes sure the old air goes away, without letting the hot or cold air sneak in. So, a passive house is like a cozy, magical home that's super good at keeping you comfortable without using a lot of energy. It's like living in a fairy tale house that's always just right, no matter the weather outside"
High Performance House
I've always known that Passive House designs save a lot of energy and will radically reduce energy bills, but there's so much more to it than that. By following the Passive House design principles your home will become a high performance home with exceptional levels of comfort, free from winter draughts, cold-spots, condensation and mould and also free from summer over-heating. Passive House design will give you a healthy & quiet home, delivering a constant supply of clean fresh air which is especially important for indoor air quality as we all spend much more of our time indoors. Windows and doors for Passive Houses need to be of the highest quality with with impressive glass specifications to both trap the warmth in winter and repel the heat in summer - as a result Passive House windows are very sound-proof and extremely secure. Passive houses are also affordable and deliver huge savings in running and maintenance costs for a small increase in the up-front capital cost.
Certified Passive House Designer
Earlier this year I undertook the lengthy and rigorous Passive House Designer course and exam and can now proudly announce that I am a Certified Passive House Designer and offer fully calculated designs using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) software, the Passivhaus Institute's official design tool which allows me to plan and optimise my Passive House designs.
I've had an intimate knowledge of the Passive House design principles for many years and intuitively include these in all my designs, but now I can back this up with in-house calculations for added peace of mind or, if you want to go one step further, I can support your application to make your home a fully Certified Passive House with a plaque to prove it!
Next time I'll delve in to the details of some of the design principles behind Passive House.
