‘Decisive’ Advantages To You, Of A Passive House!

Let’s start with a recap on the “Decisive “Advantages of a Passive House:

 

1. High levels of comfort.
2. Consistent fresh air throughout the building envelope.
3. Structural longevity: mould free buildings with a highly reduced risk of moisture damage.
4. Extremely low heating and cooling costs, despite rising energy prices.
5. A radically improved indoor environment.
6. Scientifically based so accurate and reliable. Tested and measured.

 

My previous blogs have focused on thermal comfort and airtightness in a more black and white sense, but in this blog I am bringing it back to how it directly affects you, the home owner, and your quality of life.

 

Your Living Environment and Your Personal Comfort

Delivers what it promises for the lifetime of the build

Passivhaus is the world’s most stringent and fastest growing building energy efficiency standard because it is about design.  The design fundamentals are linked to integrated design, location, orientation, form and construction system but these are used alongside another essential design tool, the PHPP (Passive House Planning Package). This PHPP is a collection of clearly defined building physics algorithms requiring certain data to be entered thus producing accurate results on the buildings performance.  Design adjustments can be made, and the data re-entered, to ensure the performance meets the requirements for certification and quality assurance.

Importantly it is a fabric first standard, delivering high performance by design, for the lifetime of the building!

 

Constant ‘Pleasant’ Temperatures Year Round

The airtight well insulated envelope of a passive house maintains a pleasant indoor temperature.  They are characterised by consistent temperatures on all interior surfaces and constant indoor climates year round, without draughts or temperature swings.   An efficient ventilation & heat recovery system provides ample fresh clean ‘spore free’ air throughout the home at room temperature.

 

Significant Allergen Reduction

The MHRV will reduce pollens and allergens that enter the home through open windows and doors through their removal via a fine filter.  The stale air inside is replaced by fresh air from outside and heated using the heat recovery system.

Through the airtight envelope moulds and moisture movement, resulting from water diffusion and condensation, are highly reduced. As explained in more detail in our previous blog.

 

Proven Noise control

Through the airtightness, quality insulation and the quality windows, noise can be significantly reduced.  This becomes more important in cities with neighbours. If you are forced into opening windows for ventilation and you have a noisy road or neighbours or bugs at night this can be really annoying!

Jon at eHaus stated that ‘… when in Germany visiting a refurbished office that there was a busy highway with trams trucks etc right outside but you could not hear them!’.

Ability to Open Windows by Choice not Necessity

For those who like to open windows it is absolutely fine to open them but you will find the need to do so has gone, it will be a choice as opposed to a necessity.  Passivhaus quality assurance requires that there be at least one window that can be opened in every habitable room.

When windows are closed they become part of the airtight envelope which delivers optimal thermal performance and comfort.   However, the mechanical ventilation system will constantly remove excess moisture that may have entered through open windows especially in humid climates, again creating a warm healthy mould free environment.

 

Uncomplicated & User Friendly

For those wanting an uncomplicated means of maintaining a warm healthy home then Passive houses are as simple as they get.  Temperature control, no draughts and fresh air supply are all built into the design so you don’t need to worry about technology, or remotes and can happily live in one of the most user-friendly homes you can get.

 

Environmentally Conscious

As it uses radically lower energy consumption, it also has incredibly low CO2 emissions.  Passive House design also lends itself well to the use of timber, a renewable and sustainable resource.

 

Risk Insurance – How Risk Can Be Reduced

Feeling comfortable about your investment is another consideration.  By building to a Passive House standard it is a great way to avoid structural damage to a building as a result of preventing mould or moisture build up.

Overseas, their low running costs are also seeing less bank defaults.  With energy price increases worldwide the low running costs are a definite advantage, particularly once retirement looms.

 

You want your home to look good, right?

Passivhaus does not dictate any particular construction system or materials to be used, in fact most construction systems can be adapted.  However, what must be considered is what can achieve the stringent requirements of a Passivehaus, including airtightness, elimination of thermal bridges and appropriate insulation values.   The form of your building can affect the complexity of the design.  Very simply put, the simpler, or more compact the form the easier it is to achieve Passivehaus standard due to the increased ratio of building envelope to building volume.

As stated above, Passive housing relies on great design tools and the designer’s knowledge of this construction method.  Experienced and knowledgeable designers, like those at eHaus, can ensure you get a beautiful home that meets all the requirements of Passivhaus but also your individual needs and wants.

 

 

Keep an eye on our blogs and Facebook Page (Chatterton Builders) for more posts on this topic.

 

We also have a great FREE informative brochure on ways to build a healthier, more comfortable, energy efficient home, which you can download here.

It covers a number of ways to improve the performance of your home, including passive house construction.

Or, if you are ready to start your building journey please feel free to contact us on 03 3130103 or info@chattertonbuilders.co.nz.

 

 

References:

eHaus
Elrond Burrell – Passivhaus in Plain English
International Passive House Association