PASSIVHAUS

(PASSIVE HOUSE)

Presented by
Ar. Madeeha Altaf
WHAT IS PASSIVHAUS?

 A building standard that is truly energy efficient

, comfortable, affordable and ecological at the same time.
Passivhaus (passive house) is not a brand name, but
a construction concept.
PASSIVHAUS

 Passivhaus is the leading international low-energy design standard

with over 30,000 passivhaus buildings completed worldwide.
 Passivhaus buildings provide significantly improved comfort and
indoor air quality, as well as much lower heating and cooling bills.
 The strength of this standard lie in the simplicity of its approach e.g.
build a house that has an excellent thermal performance,
exceptional air tightness with mechanical ventilation.
 This robust approach to building design allows the designer to
minimize the 'Heating/cooling Demand' of the building.
The Passivhaus standard can be applied not only to
residential dwellings but also to commercial, industrial and
public buildings.

The Passivhaus standard can be applied to new build and

retrofit buildings of all types, providing a robust method to
help the industry achieve the carbon reductions leading
towards Zero Carbon. Through improved fabric and
services, Passivhaus can achieve real energy demand
reductions.
The definition

The definition of Passivhaus is driven by air quality and comfort:

 "A Passivhaus is a building in which thermal comfort can be
achieved solely by post-heating or post-cooling the fresh air
flow required for a good indoor air quality."
 As well as being an energy performance standard
Passivhaus also provides excellent indoor air quality, this
is achieved by reducing the air infiltration rates and supplying
fresh air which is filtered and post heated/cooled by the
MVHR unit.
Achieving the Passivhaus Standard typically involves:
 Very high levels of insulation
 Extremely high performance windows with insulated frames
 Airtight building fabric
 Thermal bridge free construction
 A mechanical ventilation system with highly efficient heat
recovery
 Accurate design using the Passive House Planning Package
(PHPP)
ACCURATE DESIGN USING THE PASSIVE HOUSE
PLANNING PACKAGE (PHPP)

 To ensure that Passivhaus is integrated

well into the design, its principles and
standards must be understood by all
members of the design team.
 Key early decisions that may be
difficult or impossible to change later
such as orientation, building form, and
fenestration should be considered
early in the design process.
 It is recommended that the design is
modelled using the Passivhaus Planning
Package (PHPP) at the earliest.
THERMAL BRIDGING

 Passivhaus requires a thermal bridge free construction.

 A thermal bridge, also called a cold bridge or heat bridge, is an area which
has higher thermal conductivity than the surrounding materials, creating a
path of least resistance for heat transfer.
 Thermal bridges result in an overall reduction in thermal resistance of the
objects and impact the amount of energy required to heat and cool a space.
HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEM

 Heat recovery is a process of continuously preheating incoming cool supply air

by warming it with the outgoing exhaust air. Warm air is not simply exhausted
to outside. Highly efficient heat exchangers transfer a larger percentage of heat
energy to incoming supply air.

What is Ventilation with Heat Recovery?

 A Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation (MVHR) system offers a solution by
bringing fresh air into all habitable areas without letting the heat/cold escape.
MVHR…(HRV)

 Heat recovery ventilation (HRV), also known as mechanical

ventilation heat recovery (MVHR), is an energy recovery ventilation
system using equipment known as heat exchanger which employs a
cross flow heat exchanger between the inbound and outbound air
flow.

 Because building efficiency is improved with insulation, new buildings

are intentionally made more airtight, and consequently less well
ventilated. HRV systems provide ventilation without the loss of
energy (heat, cold) or humidity, which could put stress on a
building's heating, ventilating/ventilation, and air conditioning
(HVAC) systems. HRV introduces fresh air to a building and
improves climate control, whilst promoting efficient energy use.
A simple device that keeps heat in while moving
stale air out.
 What makes an HRV unique is the heat-exchange core. The core transfers
heat from the outgoing stream to the incoming stream. It's composed of a
series of narrow alternating passages through which incoming and outgoing
airstreams flow. As the streams move through, heat is transferred from the
warm side of each passage to the cold (and vice versa).
 (If the fresh air is cold, you need to warm it up, and if air is hot then you
need to cool it down).
BENEFITS

 Fresh air
 Fresh filtered ventilation to a well-insulated, high-performance
building.
 Help save on your heating/cooling bills
 Reduce the need for air conditioning
 Eliminate excess moisture out of the building and furnishings
 Improvement in health
 Keeping interior 'climate' at a constant level.
 Helps retain over 90% of energy
Examples
The Passivhaus
standard can be
applied not only
to residential
dwellings but
also to
commercial,
industrial and
public buildings
PASSIVHAUS IN
DIFFERENT
CLIMATES
PASSIVHAUS
IN DIFFERENT
CLIMATES
Passivhaus concept explanation through visual aids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CasrjYhZB1M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz6qomFM_dw
GLOBAL APPLICATION

 The Passivhaus standard can be applied to any climate in the

world and works equally well in warm climates as it does in
more moderate climates. To date Passivhaus buildings have
been designed and built in every European country, Australia,
China, Japan, Canada and USA.