What is the Passive House Standard?

Whether you’re building a new Passive House or retrofitting an existing structure, it’s essential to brush up on the Passive House Standards.

In this article, we start by providing a description of what a Passive House is. Then, we dive into the five criteria that must be met to classify your structure as a Passive House. Lastly, we explore important tips that you can use to help you meet the Passive House Standard. 

Let’s get started.

                                                                                                        
What is a Passive House?

Passive House represents a sustainable and energy efficient approach to building homes and buildings. The goal is to create comfortable living and working environments while reducing energy consumption.

The concept originated in Germany where Physicist Wolfgan Feist and structural engineer Bo Adamson built a “house without heating,” that could be kept warm “passively.” The trial was successful, and a movement was born. The Passive House concept has since expanded to include any structure like schools, offices, apartments and commercial spaces.

Today, Passive Houses share the same principles as their predecessors, but with more advanced features. As technology evolved, so did the building materials and elements within a home. These elements include super-insulated walls, high-performance windows and doors, advanced ventilation systems and renewable sources of energy. From a homeowner’s perspective, this means you get a higher quality home, while reducing energy bills.

Some consider Passive Houses to be a design aesthetic, or simply a home with more energy-efficient features. While true, there are stringent and rigorous rules that must be met to pass Passive House certification.  

What is the Passive House Standard?

To achieve Passive House certification, a structure will be assessed in the areas of space heating demand, space cooling demand, primary energy demand, airtightness and thermal comfort. Let’s look at each one, along with the specific criteria required to meet the Passive House Standard.

Space Heating Demand

Space heating demand refers to the amount of energy required to heat a building to a comfortable temperature during the coldest months of the year. A Passive House is designed to minimize this demand through superior insulation and airtightness.

The space heating demand must not exceed 15 kWh per square meter of usable floor area per year (15 kWh/m²a). This stringent requirement ensures that the building remains warm with minimal energy input.

Space Cooling Demand

Like space heating demand, space cooling is also a critical consideration. Passive Houses must pass cooling requirements to ensure homes and buildings maintain comfort during hot weather. Efficient design and shading solutions help in managing cooling demands.

The space cooling demand must not exceed 15 kWh per square meter of usable floor area per year (15 kWh/m²a). This ensures that the building remains cool and comfortable without relying heavily on mechanical cooling systems.

Primary Energy Demand

Here we assess the total energy required for all aspects of building operation, including heating, cooling, hot water, and electricity. It measures how efficiently the building uses energy from all sources.

For Passive House standards, the primary energy demand must not exceed 120 kWh per square meter of usable floor area per year (120 kWh/m²a). This limit helps in minimizing overall energy consumption and promotes the use of renewable energy sources.

Airtightness

Airtightness is crucial for a Passive House, as it prevents unwanted air leaks that can lead to heat loss and energy inefficiency. High-quality windows and doors also play a significant role in maintaining airtightness. For examples of products with exceptional  airtightness, explore EuroLine’s Tilt and Turn Windows and Tilt and Glide Doors.

To meet Passive House standards, the building must achieve an airtightness level of no more than 0.6 air changes per hour at a pressure differential of 50 Pascals (0.6 ACH @ 50 Pa). This means that the entire volume of air inside the building should not be replaced more than 0.6 times per hour.

This high standard ensures that the building envelope (walls, roofs, and floors that separate the interior and exterior of buildings) is well-sealed, reducing drafts and maintaining consistent indoor temperatures.

Thermal Comfort

In a Passive House, thermal comfort is achieved through a combination of consistent indoor temperatures, minimal temperature fluctuations, and effective heat distribution. This comfort is a result of the building’s design and thermal performance.

How do you measure thermal comfort to meet the Passive House standards? The indoor temperature should be maintained between 20°C and 25°C (68°F to 77°F) throughout the year, with a maximum fluctuation of 4°C (7°F) between different rooms. This ensures a stable and pleasant indoor climate for occupants.

Tips for Meeting Passive House Standards

For the average homeowner, meeting the Passive House Standard can seem like a daunting endeavor. To get you started, let’s go through some helpful tips you should consider when building your Passive House.

1.        Connect with Certified Passive House Professionals

The first and arguably most important step is engaging with a Passive House professional. Not only can homes and buildings be certified, so can individuals. This includes a variety of professionals like consultants, architects and contractors.

Typically, you would first engage with a consultant who will be your go-to-person for the entire project. Next, you’ll need an architect to help with the design phase. Lastly, a contractor will lead the construction. You can find these partners by getting in touch with Passive House associations including Passive House Canada or Phius.

2.       Invest in High-Quality Windows

To achieve the low space heating and cooling demands required by passive house standards, invest in top-notch high-performance windows. According to the Department of Energy, 25% to 30% of a home’s heating and cooling energy is lost through windows so ensuring the right ones are installed is key.

When looking for windows, consider triple-glazed windows with low-emissivity coatings to enhance thermal performance and reduce energy needs for heating and cooling. You won’t have to sacrifice aesthetics either. Today, there are a variety of window designs perfect for any space and design. Depending on your style, consider Tilt and Turn Windows.

3.      Choose Energy-Efficient Doors

Like windows, doors are an extremely critical aspect of meeting Passive House standards. High-quality doors are integral to maintaining airtightness and contributing to the thermal performance of the building.

Some examples that are sure to meet Passive House requirements include Swing Doors, Tilt and Glide Doors, and Lift and Slide Doors.

4.      Use the Right Ventilation Systems

One of the hallmarks of a Passive House is heat recovery. Effective ventilation systems can exchange stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air – while recovering heat from the outgoing air to preheat incoming air. This maintains good indoor air quality while remaining energy efficient.

A good ventilation system helps to address multiple Passive House requirements including primary energy demand, airtightness and thermal comfort.

5.      Ensure a Tight Building Envelope

To meet the Passive House Standard, you’ll need to go beyond basic insulation and integrate advanced building envelope techniques such as thermal bridging reduction and continuous insulation. Ensure that all connections between different building elements (walls, roof, floor, and windows) are carefully detailed to prevent thermal bridges, which are areas where heat can bypass insulation and cause energy loss.

Much of this work cannot be done by the average person. That’s where your Passive House consultant, architect and contractor can fill the gaps. Lean on them to choose the right building materials and deploy the right design techniques to make sure you meet Passive House standards.

Looking for Passive House-ready windows and doors? Learn more about EuroLine’s high-performance and high-quality line of products.