Passive House is the world standard in terms of energy-efficient construction. These buildings use 80-90% less energy than conventional homes and push the limits of design and construction by aiming for a healthier, net-zero future.
Because Passive Houses require minimal energy to achieve a comfortable year-round temperature, they eliminate the need for conventional heating and air systems. Passive Home Building focuses on delivering the highest level of comfort while also protecting the building structure.
Passive House Certification is a guarantee that a building meets these Passive House standards in terms of comfort and high performance.
Although certification is not required for a structure to be a Passive House, it does offer an invaluable and evident form of quality assurance.
Passive House Certification gives the homeowner the confidence in knowing that the agreed-upon energy standard will be achieved. Being certified can increase property value through independent quality assessment while using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) for verification can make a home eligible for various subsidy programs.
Designers are also at an advantage as thorough external checking of planning prior to the start of construction greatly reduces the chance of errors. They can also be certified as Passive House Designers.
Passive Home Building requires specific criteria to be considered a true Passive House:
For in-depth insight into the building criteria required for a Passive House click here
To guarantee that all designs, specifications, calculations, and other paperwork adhere to the Passive House standard, they are all examined. This ideally happens even before a building permit application is submitted. This is followed by a short report that would highlight any issues which could affect the certification process.
This allows the passive house team the opportunity to address issues early on. The final design is assessed after improvements are implemented, and if the plan passes the assessment, construction can start.
The post-construction documentation is reviewed once the project is completed. If the final project fails to meet any of the requirements a report detailing the shortcomings will then be issued. The project can be resubmitted for assessment provided the shortcomings can be resolved.
If Passive House Certification criteria are met, the building owner will receive the following:
Many building owners prefer upgrading certain sections of their building instead of undertaking a complete renovation. Fortunately, Passive Home Building components make it possible to achieve energy efficiency at a low additional cost.
To ensure that everything will fit together after the project is finally complete, it is advisable to have a complete plan drawn up ahead of time taking into consideration the current as well as future retrofit steps.
A methodology for this type of comprehensive plan is provided by the EnerPHit Retrofit Plan, which is accessible on the PHPP-file. The Passive House Institute offers pre-certification as an EnerPHit (or a Passive House) project as additional quality assurance. This calls for the implementation of an existing EnerPHit Retrofit Plan, where the first retrofit phase has already been carried out with a minimum energy savings of at least 20%.
To learn more about the PHPP click here.
It takes around two weeks to complete the post-construction review. Depending on whether the appropriate documentation is provided, the design stage review could take one to three months.
A Passive House does not necessarily need to be certified to be considered a Passive House, however certification provides an essential tangible form of quality assurance.
Passive Home Building is planned, optimised, and also verified with the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) and can be submitted for various subsidy programs while the property value is increased through independent quality assessment.
