A Passive Home, or Passivhaus in German, is a home built to such exacting standards of energy conservation that it requires little to no conventional heating or cooling system. The term Passivhaus refers to a rigorous voluntary low energy standard for all types of buildings.
Unlike other ‘green’ or low energy standards such as Net Zero or LEED accredited homes a Passive Home can be built for slightly more than the cost as a conventional home. However, the energy saved to run the house – up to 85% in heating – significantly reduces the home’s life time cost. The Passivhaus focus on energy conservation alleviates the necessity for expensive renewable energy sources such as geothermal or solar. This means a Passive Home is within the reach of the majority of home builders.
According to the International Passive House Association, ‘the primary objective is to minimize heat loss by optimizing the thermal performance of the building envelope.’
This is achieved by:
- Air tightness
- High performance windows
- Utilizing high efficiency heat recovery ventilation
- Super Insulation
- Minimizing thermal bridges
- Orientation of building
A major focus of the Passivhaus movement is reduction of green house gasses. The buildings we inhabit in our daily lives contribute approx 35% – 50% of our global green house gas emissions. The Passivhaus system offers a timely and affordable solution to this problem.
At Pacific Homes energy efficiency and green building are integral to our products. The standard Pacific SmartWallTM outperforms conventional walls with a proven 27% increase in thermal efficiency. Our 2×8 Pacific SmartWallTM has the same properties and efficiencies with a significant increase in performance. Super-insulation, increased air tightness, and minimized thermal bridging – Pacific SmartWallTM is a solution that can be incorporated in any Passive Home.