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The Passive House is not an energy

performance standard, but a concept to
achive highest thermal comfort conditions on
low total costs - this is the correct definition:
"A Passive House ist a building, for which
thermal comfort (ISO 7730) can be
achived solely by postheating or
postcooling of the fresh air mass, which
is required to fullfill sufficient indoor air
quality conditions (DIN 1946) - without a
need for recirculated air."

The drawing illustrates the basic principle of a Passive House: Ventilation has
to deliver at least the fresh air required for an acceptable indoor air quality. Isn
t it possible to use just this amount of air to heat (and cool) the house? - Yes,
in principle this is possible, but the maximum heat load which can be dealed
with by this concept ist very low.
This is the calculation to derive the "condition for Passive Houses":
From experience (and DIN 1946) we know, that 30 m/h is a minimum air rate
per person to maintain a reasonable indoor air quality (Yes, in airoplanes you
often get only 12 or 15 m/h. But - is this a reasonable good indoor air
quality?). Air has a specific heat capacity of 0,33 Wh/(mK) (at 21C). It is
allowed to increase the fresh air temperature by 30 K, not more, to avoid
pyrolysis of dust. You get

This is a purely functional definition. It does

not need any numerical value and it is
independend of climate. From this definition
it is clear, that the Passive House is not an
arbitrary standard enacted by somebody, but
a fundamential concept. Passive Houses
have not been "invented", but the conditions
to use the passive principle has been
discovered. One could argue about, whether
the noun "Passive House" is adequat to
denote this concept. Well - there is no better
one. Thermal comfort is delivered in a
Passive House by passive measures as far
as reasonable (insulation, heat recovery in
the temperature gradient, passive utilized
solar energy and internal heat loads). To use
only passive measures might be possible in

Why a mechanical ventilation system is recommended - at

least in Passive Houses

The health and comfort of the inhabitants

are the most important objectives of a
Passive House design. Excellent indoor
air quality is indispensable. But this can
only be achieved if stale air is exchanged
with fresh outdoor air at regular intervals.
This can definitely not be done by just
opening windows twice a day.
Ventilation will work accurately only if
polluted air is removed constantly out of
kitchen, bathrooms, and all other room
with significant air pollution. Fresh air has
to be supplied to the living room,
childrens room, sleeping rooms, and
workrooms to substitute the removed air.
The system will supply exactly as much
fresh air as is needed for comfort and for
good indoor air quality; only outdoor air
will be supplied no recirculated air. This
will lead to a high level of indoor air
quality.
The scheme of a comfortable ventilation system. Stale air (brown) is
removed permanently from the rooms with the highest air pollution. Fresh air
(green) is supplied to the living rooms. (Section from the Passive House estate at
Hannover Kronsberg, design by Rasch & Grenz. These row houses have been opened
during the field trip of the 10th Conference on Passive Houses, Sunday, May 21st 2006)

What has been discussed so far could be

satisfied by using a simple exhaust fan
ventilation system, where the air is
supplied through direct vents in external
walls. These vents allow fresh (cold) air to
enter the room at the required rate.
However, for a Passive House, the heat

Ventilation in Passive House only

High Efficiency Will Work

The weather conditions are fluctuating - and so is the air

exchange rate using natural ventilation. If ventilation is
just about sufficient during calm days, the infiltration
losses during draughty periods will be unacceptably
high.

It is essential that the ventilation system in a passive house can

provide high quality indoor air for the following reasons: A
continuous exchange of sufficient air volume has to be provided
even in the cold season in any new building and that will only
work using a mechanical system.
Uncontrolled infiltration through cracks in the building
envelope is inadequate (see also "airtightness): Wind and
temperature driven stack ventilation fluctuates very
significantly in Central European climate (and that will hold
for almost any climate). A building, that is not completely
airtight might allow for sufficient infilration during calm
weather but will have unacceptable drafts during periods
with high wind speeds (see the first diagram left hand side).
All new buildings constructed in Germany after 1984 are
built such that infiltration of air will not be sufficient at all.
This also holds for the refurbishment of existing buildings, if
new windows have been installed.
It should also be noted that if air can leak into a building,
then warm and humid air can also migrate out of a building
which can lead to moisture problems inside the
construction.
Without a mechanical ventilation system in new building,
one can only try to use the strategy of opening the windows
widely at regular intervals. To achieve an air change rate of
0.33 ach, one would have to open all the windows at least
once every three hours for some 5 to 10 minutes at a time
even during the night (see the cartoon). This would
obviously be both impractical and unacceptable in most
dwellings. As a result, the indoor air quality would be poor
coupled with increased humidity. It is difficult for humans to

This will only work in a Passive House:

Heating with nothing other than fresh air

prepared by the
Passive House
Institute

Idea #1: Use the

fresh air required
for indoor air
quality also for
heating the
building
A building occupied
by human beings
needs fresh air. If the
fresh air supply is left
to good luck, it
should not surprise if
indoor air quality
(IAQ) worsens.
If on the other hand
the heat from the
exhaust air is not
recovered, there will
be significant
ventilation heat
losses. It is

This is the know "classical" compact unit: all building services are realised in
one handy appliance:

heating,
ventilation and
domestic hot water.

Everything is centred on the element of air: air is the medium that transports
the heat (on the supply side), air is the heat source of the heat pump (on the
exhaust side). Of course, if necessary, the air could be cooled and
dehumidified as well, using the same equiment - that might be interesting in
hot climates.
Note that only the fresh air required for indoor air quality is used, there is no
recirculated air. That is a difference to the systems in wide use e.g. in the
US; those use only recirculated air and a far higher air flow rate.

impossible to realise
an energy efficient
building in this way especially if the
indoor air quality is to
be high as well.
Therefore, for energy
efficient new
construction or
refurbishment a
mechanical
ventilation with heat
recovery is really
necessary - this at
least holds for cold
climates (climates, in
which one needs a
heating system) and
in hot climates
(climates, in which
one needs active
summer cooling). For
a detailed discussion
of this point, have a
look at our page on
the topic ventilation.

The supply air, which

is delivered by the
air-to-air heat
exchanger, can
transport some heat,
too. It is not a huge
amount, but just 10
W/m can be
delivered to the
supply air rooms
using the fresh air
required for good
IAQ (see the
calculation on
heating capacity of
fresh air). That will
not be sufficient at all
in conventional
houses. But in a
passive house, the
peak heat load
requirement is
extraordinary low.
Indeed, it will be so
low that these 10
W/m available from
a fresh air supply will
be sufficient (that in

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fact is the defining

condition for a
passive house).
Thus, some
simplified building
services systems
become possible in
passive houses:
Heating with the
ventilation system,
without the need for
additional ducts or
even without the
need for a higher
duct cross-section
dimension. If, in
addition, the heater
for the supply air is
integrated within the
ventilation system
and the domestic hot
water boiler, one
ends up with an
integrated compact
unit:
Heating,
ventilation,

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domestic hot water

and cooling (if
necessary) can be
supplied by just
one appliance.
Many solutions can
be chosen for heat
generation:

Use of a
small heat
pump
(Compact unit
with heat
pump, see
figure at left
hand side)
Use of a
small
condensing
burner
(natural gas
compact unit)
Use of a
small
combustion
unit for
biomass fuel

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(e.g. strawpellets).
Idea #2: Heating
with the remnant
energy of the
exhaust air:
Compact unit with
heat pump
The remnant heat in
the exhaust air after
the air-to-air heat
exchanger does not
yield very much heat.
To be exact, we have
to talk about the
"enthalpy", because
a main part is
delivered by the
humidity in the air,
which condensates.
Again, in a passive
house the heat
requirement is very
low, so very low, that
it can be realised
almost completely by

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the remnant exhaust

air enthalpy. This
discovery was
published in 1995 by
Wolfgang Feist. That
was the beginning of
the compact unit
systems
development.
In the meantime
there are more than
ten providers
producing such
compact units with
small heat pumps.
These appliances
are highly efficient monitoring in
Passive House
settlements has
proven that..

Idea #3: Heating

using biomass: The
pellet compact unit

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Of course, heating
with biomass is not
only available in
passive houses. But
the potential total
amount of energy
from biomass is
limited - as long, as
the cultivation
method is kept
sustainable. If the
effciency of the
energy use is poor,
only a small fraction
of the buildings in
Europe may be
heated by biomass that will hold world
wide as well with
some exceptions in
remote regions. But
if efficiency is high
enough, e.g. if the
passive house
requirements are
met, then the fuel
potentially produced
by a sustainable

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agriculture and
forestry can be
sufficient to supply a
major portion of the
energy demand.
The German
biomass potential
(some 90 Billion
kWh/a at maximum)
is sufficient to cover
16% of the
contemporary
heating requirement
of all households. If
the efficiency of the
buildings is
increased to the level
of passive houses
(i.e. a factor 5), the
same energy will be
sufficient to heat
79% of all domestic
buildings.
High efficiency is an
advantage for the
users as well: One

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"problem" of biomass
always was the
handling of the fuel,
it was in fact an
important reason
why people changed
to central heating
and the use of oil as
a fuel. But if the peak
heat load for a whole
dwelling is reduced
to 1 or 2 kW, the
biomass heating
system will be just a
small box, placed in
the living room and
sufficient to heat the
whole home. Most
people like to have a
fireplace in the living
room. In a passive
house, an improved
version of a fireplace
could be the main
heating system. That
results in many
advantages:

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The biomass
oven
("fireplace")
will run fully
automatically
as one is used
to with
modern
heating
systems.
Fuel
requirement
will be just a
few kilograms
per day..
Therefore the
place needed
to store the
fuel is quite
small.
It even would
be possible to
buy the fuel
once a weak
during food
shopping.
The
combustion

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air required
for the oven
could be
supplied by
the ventilation
system, too.
And the flue
gas could be
discharged via
the exhaust
duct of the
ventilation, too
- no additional
chimney or
flue pipe
would be
needed.

All these advantages

are available if and
only if the peak load
demand is very low otherwise higher
capacities, additional
ovens in other
rooms, flue pipes
etc. will become
necessary.

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This is a quite simple

concept, relying
completely on
renewable energy,
which will work in
passive houses.
There are already
some passive
houses using this
concept (passive
houses Friedberg
(German)).
Idea #4: Heating
with condensing
units: A compact
unit using natural
gas
Everybody using a
gas stove knows that
small and clean heat
generators are
available using
natural gas (or liquid
gas). Nethertehless,
it took some time
until such a

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postheater became
available for a
compact ventilation
unit in passive
houses. The
advantages are at
hand here, too:

The
condensing
combustion
unit only
requires a
very low
combustion
air volume.
The
ventilation
system, heart
of any
compact unit,
can easily
supply this
combustion
air on the way.
Therefore, an
additional
combustion

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air duct
becomes
dispensable.
In the
condensing
combustion
unit there will
be
condensate
that has to be
disposed to
the sink. But
in a ventilation
system with a
heat recovery
there already
is a sewer
pipe for the
condensate
that may
occur at the
heat
exchanger.
The sewer
pipes can be
combined to
save costs.
The flue gas
from the

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condensing
combustion
will need a
flue pipe.
Again, this is
already
available with
the exhaust
duct of the
ventilation
system: A
precondition
to use that is,
however, that
the peak load
is very small
and there is
only a small
amount of flue
gas - and, of
course, there
has to be a
concept for
secuity
against back
drafts.
11th Conference on
Passive Houses

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Compact units
combined with the
ventilation system
are not the only
solutions for the
building services in
passive houses:
There are solutions
using natural gas,
wood pellets and
innovative electrical
systems, too - this
discussion will be
held at the
conference. In
addition, systems
using solar thermal
collectors have an
outstanding
performance.
At the exhibition
technologies for
passive houses will
be demonstrated:
Efficiency and
renewable energy

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complement one
another very well: If
the energy
requirement is as low
as in a passive
house, solar energy
can cover the main
part of the demand.
(updated: 2006-09-23 Author: W.
Feist thanks to Peter Cox for
proof reading
Passive House Institute;
unchanged copy is permitted,
please give reference to this
page)

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Information on Passive Houses

- in short -

compiled by the
Passive House
Institute

The Passive House Standard is really energy efficient, cost effective, comfortable, affordable and sustainable.
Have a look at some examples: Passive Houses - examples. 16 years experience from the very first Passive
House.

FFFFFFFFFF IMPORTANT LINK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CASE PASIVE

EXEMPLU DE PROIECTARE
http://www.passivhaustagung.de/zehnte/englisch/texte/PEPInfo1_Passive_Houses_Kronsberg.pdf

http://www.passivhausprojekte.de/projekte.php?lang=en

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Passive House:
Comfort through
Efficiency
The Passive House is the
worlds leading standard in
energy efficient construction:
Energy saved on heating is
80% compared to
conventional standards of
new buildings. The energy
requirement for heating is
lower than 10 to 20 kWh/
(ma) (depending on climate),
adding up to a low cost of 10
to 25 per month. Therefore
high energy prices are no
longer a threat to Passive
House occupants.
Passive Houses save energy - not only based on calculations, but also in real life.
This figure shows energy consumptions measured in standard buildings, in
comparison to low energy houses and Passive House settlements. You find detailed
measured data on consumption of Passive Houses on this page.
In 114 Passive Houses of the European CEPHEUS project (far right) an average
saving of 90% was monitored. By using a harmonized concept a new quality is
achieved. The Passive House is economically justifiable through the achievement
of high comfort, healthy indoor air quality and affordable construction costs.
You want to have information about imbedded energy? Paper on the life cycle

Exceptionally efficient
components and a state of
the art ventilation system,
achieve these huge savings
without compromising
comfort, but rather increasing
it.
The Passive House concept

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