Passive House Design Introduction with HSS Principal Raphael Spinner
December 22, 2021
Welcome! Thank you for joining us at HSS Design Build to discuss Passive House principles.
HSS Principal Raph gives a quick intro to Passive House Design.
Passive house design has been around for 30 years now
It is based on physical principles and sustainable design techniques that should be adapted to the specific climate of each project
Passive House doesn’t just mean it’s used for residential new build projects, it can be applied to commercial projects as well as used for retrofits of existing buildings, we are currently working on a retrofit building right now, stay tuned for an upcoming video about this project.
Passive Houses stay at a comfortable and consistent temperature year-round with minimal energy inputs. Such buildings are heated “passively”, making efficient use of the sun, internal heat sources and heat recovery.
The homes are heated with as little as your own body heat, and heat from the sun, appliances, light bulbs, etc.
Passive Homes use 90% less energy than a standard building
Significant savings have also been demonstrated in warm climates where buildings typically require active cooling throughout the summer.
Passive House certified buildings are designed with the help of the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) where we enter data on the building and surrounding climate. This allows us to see what design techniques need to be modified to reach the annual heating demand of 15 kWh/m2/a which is required for PH certification.
Passive House design is very versatile and does not require a specific method of construction. They could be made up of solid construction, wood, composite, etc.
Designing to passive house standards will result in extremely low heating and cooling costs, despite rising energy prices. Although the initial build may be a bit more expensive, a Passive House will quickly pay for itself, and in the long-term view, is much cheaper.
Join us with regularly posted videos and blogs focusing in more detail on Passive House and sustainable design strategies