What is Passive House design?
Passive House (or PassivHaus in German) is a method for designing and constructing buildings that:
- maintain a comfortable temperature all year round
- have excellent internal air quality
- use very little energy for heating
- use no additional energy for cooling (in a cool climate such as the UK)
- perform as they are designed to perform.
Passive House design by LEDA
Our Passive House design service is modelled on the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). Whether you plan to build and certify your building to the Passive House standard or use Passive House design principles to achieve a low energy building, we can support your project with advice, design and specification.
Passive House principles can be applied to new or existing buildings. We can work with you to develop a robust ‘deep retrofit’ of an existing building as well as advising on new buildings. We can work with architects or provide architectural services in-house, and cover all work required to achieve quality and performance as the design progresses through the RIBA plan of work stages:
- Advice on site layout, building shape and orientation
- Modelling of the building in the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP)
- Development of building details
- Thermal bridge modelling (when required) and advice on reducing bridging.
Does a Passive House build require different materials?
A Passive House building can comprise many forms of construction and types of insulation. The primary requirement is that data is available on the performance of the materials, so the building can be accurately modelled in the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). This requires more detailed specification than non-Passive House builds at the planning and construction stage. LEDA can provide training and guidance to help construction teams navigate this part of the process.
What features need to be included in a Passive House design?
Perhaps the most significant features of Passive House buildings are the highly insulated floor, walls and roof, which depend on the orientation, shape and size of the building. Triple glazed windows are used as they offer high insulation and comfortable internal surface temperatures. Passive House ventilation is mixed mode – for the winter months, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) is used, with natural ventilation (opening windows) in summer.
How can I achieve Passive House certification?
There are strict criteria for achieving Passive House certification, the full list of which can be found here. We are strong advocates of Passive House design and with our own Certified Passive House Designer, we are a reassuring authority on all aspects of low energy building design and securing Passive House certification.
Talk to us about your Passive House or low energy build project, or for more insight, visit a Passive House property near you at one of the twice-a-year open days.
