Passivhaus

Last week I went on an AECB CarbonLite course on understanding the Passivhaus standard, principles and methodologies.

It was a really good day for learning what the standard means and getting an introduction to the software. It's encouraging that there is also a standard for renovation, not just for new build. It's great that it's possible to build new houses to a high standard of insulation and airtightness with proper ventilation that will use 75% less energy for heating than a conventional new build. However, we can't build new houses quickly enough to replace all our existing houses and we probably wouldn't want to. Therefore, if we are to have comfortable homes that don't cost a fortune to run then it's important to renovate our existing housing stock to a high standard, so that they are warm, properly ventilated and with good air quality.

One issue I have is that all the emphasis is on the use of energy post-construction/renovation to heat the house; the embodied energy in the materials used is not considered. This is something that must assume more importance in future so that there is a reduced energy demand to produce construction materials and build houses.