Revolutionizing Sustainable Living
Passive House
The Transformative Potential of Passive House
A revolutionary standard for energy-efficient and environmentally conscious living.
Spaces
Passive House design merges innovation with comfort, creating energy-efficient, serene interiors filled with fresh air and quiet. Every space is optimized for sustainability and well-being.
Bookings
From workshops to design consultations, Passive House principles can transform any project. Share your vision, and we’ll help you integrate these standards seamlessly.
Heritage
Born from European building science, Passive House is now a global standard for sustainable living. It balances modern technology with ecological responsibility, reducing energy use while enhancing comfort.
Science & Design
Passive House relies on proven building science, not complexity. Architects and builders use tried-and-true principles to create efficient, high-performance spaces, drawing from thousands of successful projects worldwide.
The 7 Key Ideas
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(1) Super Insulated Envelope
A well insulated building envelope keeps warmth in during cold months and heat out during warmer months. Passive house walls have U-Values as low as 0.11 W/ m2 K while the 2019 NZEB national standard requires only 0.18 W/m2 K.
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(2) Solar Orientation
Passive Houses are designed to maximise energy gains from the sun. After all this is free heat. But the approach has to be nuanced to avoid solar overheating. A balanced is achieved through architectural layout, window size and layout decisions and shading strategies.
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(3) Air-Tight Construction
Passive Houses are designed to avoid leakages in the building envelope which boosts energy efficiency and eliminates draughts and moisture damage. When tested under pressure using a blow tester @ 50pa, a Passive House must barely exceed 1/5 air change per hour and will typically fare much better.
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(4) Mechanical Heat Recovery & Ventilation (MHRV)
Why let all the heat vent from your house when you can reuse it. Mechanical Heat recover in Passive House ventilation systems removes the heat from the stale air being expelled from the house and transfers it to the incoming fresh air without any cross contamination.
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(5) Technical Details to Eliminate Cold Bridges
Thermal bridges are weak points in the building envelope that allow heat transfer. The loss of heat is something obvious to avoid but less obvious is the problems they present through causing condensation both within the building and, more.
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(6) High Quality Doors & Windows
Highly insulated windows play a part in the optimal use of the sun’s energy. The window design in a passive house requires careful balancing of size, location and consideration of sun aspect and shading. Ireland has many Passive House window suppliers.
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(7) Affordability
At the centre of the Passive House ethos is affordability. We are looking for the most economically efficient way to achieve consistently high comfort. This has to be calculated both in build cost and running cost terms.
