MAXIMUM COMFORT,
MINIMUM ENERGY
Passive House
Principles
Passive building is a set of design principles for attaining a rigorous level of energy efficiency while creating comfortable indoor living spaces.
These principles can be applied to all buildings, including single-family homes, multifamily apartment buildings, schools, skyscrapers and more.
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Image courtesy of Hammer & Hand
PASSIVE HOUSE PRINCIPLES
Thermal Control
Thermal control means “heat transfer control”. It stabilises the inside temperature helping to keep the inside warmer when it’s cold outside, and cooler when it’s hot outside.
It aims to maximize comfort and energy efficiency.
The most effective means of controlling heat transfers is to increase the thermal insulation through an accurate cladding of the building with homogeneous materials and low thermal conductivity.
Mass Timber Technology has proven to be the most suitable one. The MT structure becomes the ideal base for designing a perfect cladding (stratigraphy): the precise composition of layers of materials chosen to obtain optimal internal comfort under local climatic conditions and energy saving parameters.
Thermal Bridges Elimination
A thermal bridge, also called a cold bridge, is an area or component of an object which has higher thermal conductivity than the surrounding materials, creating a path of least resistance for heat transfer.
An effective, thermal-bridge-free enclosure design eliminates “cold corners,” minimising risk condensation and mold growth on the interior, and improving comfort
Air Control
Airtightness is the resistance to inward or outward air leakage through unintentional leakage points or areas in the building envelope.
Differential pressures across the building envelope due to the combined effects of stack, external wind and mechanical ventilation systems determine air leakage.
Passive buildings achieve air control by air sealing the enclosure (thermal envelope) and then providing balanced, mechanical ventilation to achieve superior indoor air quality.
Balanced ventilation with
Heat & Moisture recovery
With an airtight enclosure, continuous, balanced ventilation is absolutely critical to indoor air quality (IAQ). Passive buildings continually exhaust stale air from bathrooms, kitchens and areas with stale air and supply fresh air to living and working spaces.
Uncontrolled air exchange via cracks and gaps in a leak building shell
Balanced ventilation makes the most sense if you intend
to control the source of your fresh air.
High performance window with automated shading
Section of automated shaded window
Solar Radiation Control
Controlling solar radiation is key for optimized design and preventing overheating in passive buildings.
Optimized buildings balance solar radiation — taking advantage of it when needed and shading when not – to lighten the cooling load and maximize energy efficiency.
High performance glazing
Passive buildings employ high-performance windows (double- or triple-paned windows depending on climate and building type) and doors with additional focus on proper solar heat gain and orientation in design.
Glazing is an extremely important component in contemporary buildings, providing daylighting and views. Poor choices for glazing design impacts visual comfort, thermal comfort and escalates the building energy demand.
High-performance glazing in windows offer a massive energy reduction potential: 75 Mtoe representing 29% of building energy consumption for heating and cooling and 94 Million tonnes of CO2 could be saved in 2030 in the EU, should all buildings be equipped with high-performance glazing.
Shading & Daylight
Appropriate shading strategies exploit the sun’s energy in the heating season and minimize overheating during the cooling season. A good architectural design and the use of exterior shading devices also helps a lot with solar radiation control.
Daylighting can be a critical passive strategy to reducing lighting loads.
High performance window with automated shading
Section of automated shaded window
High-performance glazing in windows offer a massive energy reduction potential: 75 Mtoe representing 29% of building energy consumption for heating and cooling and 94 Million tonnes of CO2 could be saved in 2030 in the EU, should all buildings be equipped with high-performance glazing.
Moisture Control
Humidity in conventional buildings is mainly due to construction criteria. Quite often, the decay of traditional materials turns into cracks. A lack of airtightness and defects during construction may trigger leaks, causing damage even after years. This moisture will eventually lead to mould and condensation, which will create an unhealthy living environment. Another common cause is moisture transfer due to air movement. The building envelope, if not sealed, not only does thermal loss occur, but small amounts of moisture can enter the building through the air.
As specified above, the solution lies in airtightness and ventilation, eliminating any onset of humidity at the source.
Thermic imaging of a passive house -in the middle – with 2 conventional houses – on each side. The red color shows the amount of thermal dispersion, while the blue color reflects thermal efficiency.
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