PASSIVE-HOUSE POINTS

A passive house (‘Passivhaus’ in German) is designed to require minimum energy in order to stay at a comfortable temperature during winter and summer. They originated in 1988, as a collaboration between Bo Adamson from Swedish Lund University and Wolfgang Feist from the German Institute for Housing and the Environment.

The thermally efficient building aims to maintain an indoor temperature 20°C year round, with space heating required for two months of the year.

Most passive-house buildings use heat recovery systems via internal ducts. Natural light is maximised with large south-facing windows, and solar heating is also key to the concept.

In order to reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer, windows are triple glazed, with special coatings between the panes to create heat and avoid condensation. Walls are insulated with cellulose made from recycled newspaper.