Contents
What defines a passive house?
“A Passive House is a building, for which thermal comfort (ISO 7730) can be achieved solely by post-heating or post-cooling of the fresh air mass, which is required to achieve sufficient indoor air quality conditions – without the need for additional recirculation of air.”
What are the benefits of a passive house?
Top 6 benefits of a passive house
- Low monthly energy use and big savings.
- High indoor air quality.
- Less sneezing and less cleaning.
- A totally quiet house.
- Flexibility in building materials.
- A future-proofed home.
Is a house an active or passive?
Houses are stationary objects, and using terms “active” and “passive” to describe them initially seams a little strange. These terms usually correspond to design concepts that create comfort for occupants while drastically cutting down on energy use. Active elements require energy source in order to work.
What are the disadvantages of passive houses?
Main Challenges of Passive House Construction
- Backup heating and cooling systems become necessary, and builders may require plenty of insulation to stay below the limit of 15 kWh/m2/year.
- The required energy performance can also limit window area, and those used must have triple glazing and low-e coating.
What is an active House?
7/28/2015. Active House is a vision that plays off of the concept of Passive House or PassivHaus, as it is known in countries besides the U.S. Passive House standards are geared towards using insulation and “passive” design elements to promote natural energy savings, ventilation, and comfort.
Are passive houses healthy?
Examples of passive houses are analyzed to find indicators of “emerging” health risks. Potential problems are overheating, noise from installations, legionella contamination of domestic water buffers, low ventilation volumes, complex control mechanisms and lack of flexibility of ventilation services.
How does a passive house get its heat?
Passive homes are heated primarily by the sun, but unlike solar-powered houses, which use solar panels to convert sunlight to electricity, passive houses capture the sun’s energy in the form of heat, using the design and construction of the home itself to eliminate the need for a furnace, fireplace or other conventional heat source.
Why are there so many myths about passive houses?
This myth is born from the super-high levels of airtightness that passive houses need in order to retain heat that is lost through draughts in normal homes. Passive houses also use Mechanical Ventilation Heat Recovery Exchangers for ventilation, further fuelling the myth that opening the windows will break them.
What are the benefits of passive house buildings?
The high performance insulation and windows installed in Passive House buildings also make such buildings extremely quiet. If your building is located in a busy urban area, you will be protected from noise pollution and can enjoy a peaceful home or workplace.
Why is ventilation important in a passive house?
The ventilation systems installed in Passive House buildings provide a constant supply of fresh air, ensuring pollutants and odours are removed from the building whilst maintaining a comfortable indoor air temperature.