Small Introduction To Passive Houses
1990 was the year when the first apartment block was built with the Passivhause standard. The Kranichstein Passive House, in the German city of Dormstadt (near Frankfurt).
Have you ever heard the concept of ‘Passive House’?
It is becoming more and more popular and we are increasingly looking to apply its standards in all new constructions, but there are still people who find the concept strange. This is a four-stroke manual, with the basic principles to understand it.
First, you should know that passive houses are a concept first used in 1979 in Edward Mazria's book 'Passive Solar Energy Book', and it quickly became popular within architecture schools shortly thereafter.
In recent years, and with the rise of more sustainable “macro trends”, more and more people are becoming interested in having a home that supports their lifestyle. A home that respects the environment they live in and has the minimum impact on the planet.
WHAT IS A PASSIVE HOUSE?
Passive houses are those that are built with various bioclimatic strategies to avoid active energy consumption. Active energy is the one measured in kWh, the power that produces light, heat and movement (the energy used by heating and air conditioning).
Avoiding the use of active energy, a passive house helps us maintain really good thermal comfort indoors - not too hot, not too cold - both for our benefit and the planet.
In a passive house, between 80 and 90% of its operation comes from a good passive systems strategy. The remaining 10% a minimum use of heating to be enjoyed on very cold days.
To achieve the so-called "zero-consumption household", passive systems are used.
Passive systems are architectural strategies such as window orientation, wall insulation and ventilation.
According to the European Directive 2010/31 / EU, all new buildings must have almost zero energy consumption from 2021 (nZEB - almost Zero Energy Buildings).
WHAT DOES ‘PASSIVHAUS’ MEAN?
If you’ve heard a bit about it, you will also have read about the Passivhaus concept.
A Passivhaus home is a passive house certified by this German body.
This certification, created in 1988, recognizes that a building meets the required technical levels. Under their requirements, they determine a maximum annual heating consumption of 15 kWh per square meter, which is more or less what a small appliance like a hairdryer uses.
THE 5 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF A PASSIVE HOUSE
1. SUPER INSULATED ENVELOPES
If you have good insulation on exterior walls and roofs, the indoor temperature becomes much more stable and the need to use any air conditioning system is drastically reduced.
2. THERMAL-BRIDGE-FREE DETAILING
Thermal bridges in architecture are the points where the insulation is broken due to a change in shape or material. To put it bluntly, most cases are mostly at doors and windows 🙃.
In these different material connections, angles, etc., different strategies are used, such as specially designed profiles or materials with better thermal resistance.
3. AIRTIGHT CONSTRUCTION
Surely you have ever seen the typical window that even when closed, has a trickle of air that sneaks in from somewhere.
As you can imagine, this can not happen in a passive house. Since ventilation and temperature are so important, the entire exterior structure should be sealed.
4. HIGH-PERFORMANCE GLAZING
It has become clear by this point that doors and windows are the most complicated points for good insulation; that’s why it’s so important that openings (such as doors and windows) are well oriented, and double or triple glazed windows are used.
Besides, low-emissivity glass is used, so that in winter it reflects the heat inside and keeps it outside in summer.
5. MECHANICAL HEAT RECOVERY VENTILATION
Mechanical ventilation is a ventilation system that ensures that the hygienic quality of the indoor air is very high.
Is it familiar that f**** cold when airing the house in the morning? 🥶 Well, in a Passivhaus or passive house it is not necessary to go through those bad times, since the ventilation system forces the extraction of air to renew it.👌
