Passive Houses are buildings in which a comfortable indoor climate can be achieved in winter as well as in summer with an extremely low energy input. The quality criteria for Passive Houses are mainly defined by the Passive House Institute Darmstadt (PHI). The following criteria apply to residential buildings:
Annual heating requirement ≤ 15 kWh/(m²a)
Primary energy consumption ≤ 120 kWh/(m²a)
Airtightness for building envelope n50 ≤ 0,6 air changes/h
The Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) is the verification tool.
You can find more details about requirements and verification procedures for Passive Houses as well as about quality assurance and certification in “Passive House criteria for residential buildings”. (*.pdf-Document, 76kB).
The Passive House Standard has already proved itself in numerous projects. However, design and realization of Passive Houses is still demanding for all parties involved. In order to realize a Passive House successfully and economically, quality assurance is indispensable. For this purpose, a Passive House can be certified by the Passive House Institute, the Passivhaus Dienstleistung GmbH or other entities authorized by the Passive House Institute, Darmstadt.
When designing a Passive House, it is already in the planning phase that the foundations for a reliable Passive House are being laid with the preliminary test for the certification: Passive House relevant points in the design, construction, building services and energy balances of the building are examined, and if necessary, suggestions for improvements are worked out. Upon completion of the building, the airtightness of the building envelope is tested.
If the Passive House criteria as specified by the Passive House Institute, Darmstadt fulfilled, the certified Passive House certificate is issued:
More than 550 buildings including single family, two family, row and multi-family houses as well as other residential accommodations, office buildings and public buildings have already undergone certification. The very positive feedback confirms the high comfort and the low energy costs afforded by Passive Houses. You can find documentation of these projects in our Passive House database - certified Passive Houses are marked with the PHI Logo.
Visit www.passiv.de, the homepage of the Passive House Institute Darmstadt. There you can find information about Passive House criteria for Passive House suitable components such as windows, glazing, entry doors, ventilation systems, construction systems as well as for their certification.