What are Passive Houses? A Passive House is a building with an ultra-low energy consumption, making it the most efficient home available. This blog post will explore what exactly makes them so special and how they can be implemented in your future home. Read on to find out more!
1. Passive Houses Need Less Energy to Keep Comfortable
The key feature of Passive Houses is that they require very little energy to maintain a comfortable interior climate, as the constructions are well-insulated and contain plenty of thermal mass. The combination of insulation and thermal mass means that houses can keep their temperature stable easily without needing high heating bills.
2. They’re Super Efficient in Summer Too!
Passive House constructions aren’t just incredible in the winter; every season is accounted for, with special design considerations put into place to make sure your house is always comfortable regardless of weather patterns or time of day. This even includes summertime, when most buildings require significant cooling (in this case supplied by ventilation rather than air conditioners).
3. They’re More Durable than Most Buildings
Not only do passive houses require very little energy, they also tend to be more durable and last longer than other buildings. This is due to modern techniques of building using superior materials and quality foundations, as well as the passive design which protects them from extreme weather patterns and other damage. This means you can save money by not having to repair your home for many years after you’ve moved in!
4. You Can Build Them Anywhere
As long as you have access to thermal mass (such as soil or rock), the right budget ,and a builder who understands all aspects of Passive House construction, there are no restrictions on where you live or what climate your house will face when you build a passive house. Some builders have even demonstrated that you can construct them underground, so being able to take advantage of the thermal mass is the only requirement.
5. They’re Great for People Who are Sensitive to Temperature Fluctuations
Passive houses are really great for people who notice extreme temperature fluctuations – especially those suffering from hyperhidrosis or Raynaud’s syndrome . These houses do not require large heating bills, allowing residents to stay in the same room temperature without noticing a change. This is especially useful in people with hyperhidrosis, who can notice changes in temperature and sweat when they feel their surroundings heating up or cooling down rapidly.
6. You Can Make Your Own
If you’re thinking: I don’t need to worry about all these fancy features; I’m sure most houses nowadays are building homes themselves , why should I? Well, there’s nothing stopping you from building your own Passive House! A good place to start would be by watching videos on YouTube of how it works and learning more about construction through diagrams like this one . Testing for airtightness is also an important part of making sure that your house is efficient, so here’s a great test that you can try at home to see how airtight your house is.
7. They’re Efficient and Healthy!
A passive house is a building construction which has been so well designed and built that it requires little energy for space heating or cooling. Properly planned and constructed homes can be comfortable year-round without needing any significant heating or air conditioning systems. This means lower utility bills, more money in your wallet, and a healthier environment to live in!
Planning and design of the home should ensure that the home’s occupants will not be exposed to drafts or temperature variations. The key to achieving this goal is through tight fitting joints between materials, good insulation ,and an airtight building envelope .
8. Passive Houses are Nature Friendly!
Passive House is the most energy efficient building standard in the world. It ensures very low energy demand for space heating and cooling. “The benefits of Passive Houses go far beyond savings on utility bills. They allow us to build homes where we can avoid harmful impacts on health, climate change, ecosystems and biodiversity”. The Passive House Standard was developed in Germany in the 1990s with growing international interest since then (Examples: Canada , USA , Australia). Last year, Germany had more than 350 000 certified Passive Buildings (source: DIN ).
9. Greenhouses Are an Easy Way to Test Out Passive House Standards
One way to see what you think about how comfortable it would be living within passive house standards is to go to a greenhouse. The humidity is high, it’s consistently warm, and you can’t leave the door open for too long without it getting too cold outside for the plants. It also doesn’t have many windows other than skylights which means there’s little source of ventilation coming into the building. You’ll definitely know if you’re sensitive to temperature changes!
Passive House standards are designed around airtightness , incredibly tight insulation ,and heat recovery ventilation . This allows everyone to live in a comfortable climate where they don’t have to worry about fluctuations in temperatures or having the right materials to keep out strong drafts. So next time you think of buying or building your own home, be sure to look into passive house construction!
