Steps for a Passive House in your region with your climate

In the first step of this article by Dr. WolfgangFeist, he talks about how Passive House is not a style of building but more of a method of achieving a better performing house. The method of constructing a passive house is heavily dependant on the geographical location of the site as the climatic conditions are a major factor in the performance of a passive house. The local building traditions & specific climatic conditions have to be considered when designing a passive house for a specific region. Passive House methods can vary from region to region as climates differ in different parts of the world. Dr. Wolfgang Feist uses the example of Passive House methods in California used in Europe proved unsuccessful due to differences in solar gain in the two regions.

However, the principles of passive house remains the same throughout the world. The Passive House principle is based on the concept by Amory Lovins of reducing investment through energy efficient design. It is suggested that when the peak heating load of 10W/m2 is reached it is a significant threshold. The definition of a Passive House is the peak heating load should be projected to a lower level than 10W/m2. The construction costs of trying to achieve a Zero Energy House can outweight  the benefits, It is much more logical to strive for a passive house that has low energy consumption.

The methodology for passive house solutions always remain the same:

• Use passive technologies to reduce peak load demands 
• Use heat recovery for good indoor air quality and heating 
• Maintain high comfort levels
• Use affordable, cost effective, simple solutions to minimise energy demand. 
• Always provide insulation
• Provide shading in areas with high solar radiation
• Provide heat recovery in all climates for heating, cooling and dehumidification 
• Geothermal systems can provide heating and cooling depending on the region

The next step is to perform a computer based parametric study of the building design solutions and to check the results for energy demands, financial investment, and healthy indoor climate.  The different elements of a traditional house can be modified step by step to achieve passive house standard. The parametric study is performed using computerised thermal building model.