Three of our team have successfully completed the Passive House Tradesperson course and exam to become Passive House (Passivhaus) certified.
Passivhaus is a leading international design standard for improving the energy efficiency of buildings and reducing the building’s ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling.
Thirty years ago, the world’s first so-called passive house complex was built in Germany as part of an effort to sustainably construct buildings and limit environmental damage.
Dr Wolfgang Feist, founder and leader of the Passive House Institute, developed the idea that, by using the right materials and techniques, buildings could be heated or cooled with minimal need for bought-in energy, this was based on 5 key principles.
- high-quality thermal insulation
- triple-glazed windows
- avoidance of thermal bridges
- airtight building envelope
- ventilation system that can recover heat.
Passive houses consume about 90% less heating energy than older buildings and 75% less energy than the average newly-constructed building, the Institute says. Only needing additional sources of heating when the weather is very cold, while in hot summer months air conditioning is unnecessary as insulation keeps the heat out.
With the energy crisis at the forefront of everyone’s minds, many people are looking at energy efficient solutions in their projects and ADNC have made it a priority to achieve this certification to understand the standard to work with these individuals and Passive House designers.
