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A passivehouse or Passivhaus is a house that has been built according to criteria that allows a high level of indoor comfort and almost zero energyconsumption. In order to achieve these standards , very high quality and energy efficiency standards are used.
Passive houses bring us above all quality of life, economic savings, sustainability and warmth of housing. These are the main reasons that have led us to PREAR Architects to be specialists in sustainable architecture and passive house design. From our architectural studio we look for your home to be premium, to have a quality above the average so that being at home is a pleasure in itself.
How does a Passive House work?
Passive Houses or Passivhaus are based on 5 fundamental criteria. We explain them below:
Design:
For a house to function as a passive house, it is essential to apply a design criterion that combines a good orientation of the house and its interior elements. This orientation, in turn, must protect from the sun in summer and allow it to enter in winter. It is also advisable to design with a good compactness, compactness is the ratio between the volume of the dwelling and the surface area exposed to the outside.
The design should also take into account the possibility of cross ventilation in summer. This makes it easy to cool the house at night when the temperature drops.
Thermal insulation:
It is not just a question of putting in more and more insulation, but we must analyse the point at which an increase in insulation does not bring about a substantial improvement.
In addition, it is very important to ensure that this insulation is placed continuously throughout the building. A perfect seal must be created over the house to avoid thermal bridges. In this way, energy losses (whether heat in winter or cold in summer) are kept to a minimum.
Study of material solutions:
It is very important that two elements are given special importance when choosing the materials to build the house.
Depending on the use of the house, depending on the needs and characteristics of the climate and the use, the thermal inertia should be as high as possible or the opposite, and this can be achieved with a correct study of materials and needs.
Given that the openings of the building are the areas where most energy is lost, it is essential to use windows and doors with high performance and if possible, with Passivhaus certification. For example, we use triple-glazed and special windows in many of the projects we carry out.
Airtightness:
In a passive house the envelope should be as airtight as possible. A renovation rate of less than 0.6 times per hour at a negative pressure of 50 Pascals must be achieved. The Blower Door test is used to check this.
This airtightness is complemented by the forced ventilation system with heat recovery.
Ventilation with heat recovery:
Heat recovery systems are one of the most important technological innovations in passive houses. Thanks to this equipment , we can renew the air in our home continuously 24 hours a day without losing energy in this renewal. It is like having the windows of the house open but without losing heat.
In addition to the energy benefits, the comfort benefits are impressive. The quality of life that comes from having completely renewed air throughout the day in the home is very high. This system is very favourable for people with allergies or respiratory problems, as the air that is introduced into the house is filtered.
And with the added bonus of being able to forget about bad smells at home.
Is a passive house much more expensive?
No. Although the cost may increase by 5% to 10%, the reduction of the “energy mortgage” allows us to compensate for this extra investment in a few years. As an example, a basic house of 150 m2 can cost around €150,000 and the same passive house around €160,000. In the basic house we pay an average of €1000 per year for heating and cooling. In contrast, in a passive house we can pay less than €100 per year. With a saving of 900 € per year, we can see that in 12 years we have amortised the investment. But we must also appreciate that this investment not only saves us energy but also provides us with quality of life and comfort.
In this article we tell you how much it costs to build a house with all the details. Click here.
Here is also the testimony of a couple from Zaragoza who talk about the savings of living in a passive house. Click here.
Do you want to have a passive house?
Once you are here, it is very likely that you already know a lot about what a passive house is and what the advantages are. The next step for your passive house is to take the plunge and start designing your ideal house. We are here to help you.
In PREAR Architects we have been trained to design your passive house. We work on custom designs for you, we work with you so that you have the home you want and you don’t have to worry about anything. How? very simple:
First contact us. Click here, call us at 976 089 504 or Info@prear.es
Then we will meet with you, we will see your needs and tastes and we will make proposals. When we have a design that you like, we will draw up the projects to be able to build and apply for the licences at the Town Hall. At the same time, we will help you to find serious construction companies that guarantee a good job, based on our experience with various companies.
When we have the licence granted we will start building your house. We continuously supervise the execution so that we make sure that everything is being done well. Our aim is for you to have peace of mind about an investment as important as this.
Is it possible to build a turnkey passive house?
Yes, we can also offer you this service. We have a series of pre-designed homes that we can offer at a fixed price. If you are interested in a turnkey service, contact us and we will inform you about how we work.