Not Just Low Energy

Passivhaus is...
best practice in design, spec. & installation
for a healthy & comfortable living environment
for sustainable living & lasting quality

Setting the Scene

What is Passivhaus/ Passive House?

After the oil crisis of the 1970’s the ambition gradually rose to build houses which use less heating energy. Here in Scotland many owners of laird mansions and estate houses found it unaffordable to heat these extensive, but in-efficient buildings, which consequently lead to the de-construction of a number of these in the 20th century.

In the early 1980’s minimum standards for air tightness, glazing, wall and loft insulation were implemented for new dwellings in many Northern European countries. Besides the benefits of building more energy efficient, it became apparent that there are also negative side effects. Pictures of mouldy window reveals went through the press, questioning if modern buildings are detrimental for the health of their occupants.

history of passivhaus

In the context of this conundrum between increased air tightness, energy efficiency and comfort on the one side and a healthy indoor environment on the other side, research was being conducted in Germany, Canada and other countries to find possible solutions. Also, the increase in capital costs for energy efficiency was to be considered.

Humble beginnings

German passivhausBo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist had the ambitious aim to find the optimal thermal efficiency of buildings at a point when these measures are still affordable. E.g. the more external insulation is added, the lesser the heating costs, but the more the build costs increase. However, the cost savings are not linear, but flatten out. Beyond about 500mm external insulation no further energy savings can be measured.
This optimal thermal efficiency was considered at that point when the heating consumption of a building had been so reduced, that a conventional central heating system could be replaced by a small backup heating.

In 1988 the Passivhaus concept was formed by analysing and optimising all aspects of the thermal building physics to reach this standard of efficiency. Wolfgang Feist built the first Passivhaus in 1991 in Darmstadt/ Germany, which was extensively monitored.

The rise of a star

Since 1991 over 20,000 certified dwellings have been built all over the world in different climatic zones. Many more have been built without certification. A European funded international research project CEPHEUS “Cost Efficient Passive Houses as European Standard” was launched.

PAssivhaus InstitutSubsequently a Passivhaus Institute (PHI) and International Passive House Association was founded which monitors, refines its methodology and promotes such highly efficient buildings.

Soon it was realized that this methodology can be used also for commercial buildings of all types: Offices, schools, nurseries, care homes, retail outlets, sports facilities, community halls and many more have been built to Passivhaus standards. Theoretically every building which needs heating and ventilation can be built in this methodology.

Passivhaus or Passive House?

When Passivhaus came to the Britain a question arose about the spelling. The Passivhaus Institute promoted the translation of the word into all languages where it is being implemented, e.g. ‘Passivhus’ in Sweden and ‘Passive House’ in the UK. However, some leading designers in the UK industry wanted to rather keep the German spelling, in order to differentiate the defined methodology from the historically rather loosely used term ‘Passive House’.

Now the UK Passivhaus Trust prides themselves with over 1,000 Passivhaus / Passive House buildings in the UK with growing numbers.

What is Passivhaus?

Many have come forth with various definitions and explanations. May we add our simplified take on of this fascinating concept.

passivhaus methodology

1. The aim
2. The method & minimum criteria
3. The implementation
4. Its place in the quest for sustainability

The aim of Passivhaus/ Passive House

It was aimed to build energy efficient, airtight homes which would also provide healthy and comfortable indoor climate using well known construction physics. By minimising the energy use within these homes, by up to 90%, the costs to the homeowner would drastically reduce while also having a lesser impact on the environment. A win-win for everyone. These homes would be required to be built with such high quality from start to finish, that they are potentially be future-proofed. By taking into consideration every aspect of the building, the indoor climate will be healthy and comfortable to occupy.

The Passivhaus Institute has set forth following stringent performance targets for the heating and cooling:

Thermal performance Maximum value Example of a 100 m2 dwelling
Space heating demand

& cooling demand

Or

15 kWh/(m2 yr) Max. 1,500 kWh of gas or other source per year to heat (or cool) the dwelling.

Can cost as little as £42.00 per year.

Space heating load

 

And

10 W/m2 Max. 1kW of heat source needed for the coldest time of the year with no solar gains.

This is comparable to about 13 candles.

Limit of overheating risk Max 10% of time Not more than 36 days per year the indoor temperature is allowed to be above 25°C.

Additionally, a standard for retrofit projects has been formed: EnerPHit. These renovation projects follow the Passivhaus principles, but have a reduced heating demand requirement of 25 kWh/(m2 yr).

There are now three tiers of Passivhaus/ House, depending on the overall primary energy use* and how much renewable technologies are being implemented.

 

 

 

Level of PH Max. primary energy* use Energy generation (renewables) Example of a 100 m2 dwelling
Classic 60 kWh/(m2 yr) not required Max. 6,000 kWh energy use, including hot water, all appliances and lighting.
Plus 45 kWh/(m2 yr) 60 kWh/(m2 yr) Max. 4,500 kWh overall energy use,

Min. 6,000 kWh energy generation.

Premium 30 kWh/(m2 yr) 120 kWh/(m2 yr) Max. 3,000 kWh overall energy use,

Min. 12,000 kWh energy generation.

Passivhaus Plus are practically Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs).
Passivhaus Premium are Plus Energy Buildings.


*) Primary energy (PE) is an energy form found in nature that has not been subjected to any human engineered conversion process. It is energy contained in raw fuels, and other forms of energy received as input to a system. Primary energy can be non-renewable or renewable.
Where primary energy is used to describe fossil fuels, the embodied energy of the fuel is available as thermal energy and around 70% is typically lost in conversion to electrical or mechanical energy. There is a similar 60-80% conversion loss when solar and wind energy is converted to electricity, but today’s UN conventions on energy statistics counts the electricity made from wind and solar as the primary energy itself for these sources. (source: Sauar, Erik. “IEA underreports contribution solar and wind by a factor of three compared to fossil fuels”. energypost.eu. Energy Post. Retrieved 22 April 2018.)

With its primary focus on the well-being and health of the occupants and a drastic reduction in living costs, Passivhaus is much more than an energy standard. It has an amazing potential to impact the physical and mental health of our population and reduce fuel poverty.

Passivhaus from the occupant perspective

Dormont Estate has one of the first Scottish Passivhaus / Passive house developments in Lockerbie with four 2 bedroom and four 3 bedroom dwellings as a rural social housing scheme.

Now occupied for over 8 years extensive post occupancy research has been conducted by MEARU. Listen to the feedback of some of the residents.

The Passivhaus principles – A Passive Approach

What comes to mind when we picture a sustainable building: solar panels, wind turbines and exotic designs with grass roofs? Unfortunately, what happens in our build environment is all too often that we just bolt a certain renewable technology onto a fairly in-efficient building and call it ‘eco-home’ … and who really cares if these renewables are well planned or commissioned to work properly?
Passivhaus is the polar opposite of such tick-box approach. It is meant to be a carefully thought through holistic concept, which starts with great attention to detail, in order to optimize the thermal performance of the outer fabric of the building. ‘Fabric first’ is the well-known motto.
With the greatly reduced energy demand, renewables are then a useful contribution to complement the concept. In general, the passive approach, including MVHR, has by far a greater potential to reduce the prime energy use of a building (and CO2) than any single renewable technology can achieve.

The image below sums up the most important principles:

passivhaus principles

  1. An optimised building shape and orientation: This means simply the optimisation of building physics in order to minimize heat losses. E.g. a good volume to surface ratio. A Passivhaus does not need to look like an object from another world. It can come in all kinds of shapes and appearances and can utilize area specific materials and designs.
  2. Solar gains: A Passivhaus is usually built around utilizing the free energy of the sun. The orientation of the house and its openings should be carefully planned to maximise solar gains. Larger windows are ideally placed on the South, East and West elevations and smaller ones on the North side. However, with solar gains comes the potential of overheating.
  3. Shading & overheating prevention: To prevent overheating in summer and even in the mid-seasons, shading is a very important consideration. It can be cleverly applied so that it keeps the summer sun out, but lets the winter sun shine into the building. Shading should be external as internal blinds are not as efficient in keeping the heat out. Foliage can also be taken into consideration. Thermal mass or even phase-changing materials can absorb and release some of the heat when necessary.
  4. All-round super insulation: This includes well performing windows, external doors, walls, roof and floor with minimised thermal bridging. Special attention is given to the detailing of the floor-wall connection and the insulation of the floor slab. External structures, e.g. balconies should ideally be free-standing.
  5. The clear demarcation of the thermal envelope: Clearly distinguish spaces within and outside of the warm envelope. Grey zones should be avoided at all cost, e.g. an internal garage with a poorly performing internal door towards the house. Also, all services (hot water, heating, ventilation) should be kept fully within the thermal envelope. Beware of warm services in cold roof spaces or eaves.
  6. Excellent air tightness: A dedicated air tightness layer should envelope the whole building. It typically follows the thermal envelope. Multiple penetrations of the thermal envelope should be avoided. Those few necessary penetrations for the air intake and exhaust, for water, waste water and electrical services, SVP and combustion appliances should be carefully planned and installed, e.g. with air tightness grommets.
  7. A Passivhaus Heat Recovery Ventilation System: This is an integral part of the success-story of Passivhaus, which maintains a healthy and comfortable internal climate. The specification is very different from the typical UK MVHR system, as it is based on ‘real’ best efficiencies, and is not degrading in its performance over time or in winter.

Following minimum performance standards are set forth to achieve an overall good performance of all elements. The reason behind this is to prevent the off-setting of some components or renewables to the detriment of the overall efficiency of the thermal envelope.

 

Criteria Maximum values Explanation
Air tightness 0.6 ach/h at 50Pa Comparable on average to 0.8 m3/(h m2) at 50Pa at a UK air tightness test result. Pressurisation and de-pressurisation.
Walls, roof & floor 0.15 W/(m2 K) U-value of all opaque building components with minimised thermal bridging.
Windows & doors 0.8 W/(m2 K) U-value of the whole window and door incl. frame. Typically triple glazing. Doors without letter boxes.
MVHR Minimum 75% efficiency Passivhaus certified MVHR or non-certified MVHR with a 13% deduction in efficiency (DIBt test method).

Please note, that the assembly of such performing components alone does not constitute a Passivhaus. It is rather the overall performance of the building in its environment that makes it qualify.

The attitude makes all the difference

In our industry environment focussed on flashy appearances and steeped in a sell-and-run mentality, Passivhaus tries to establish very different values, revolving around real and lasting performance.
Generally, the performance values of all materials, that all calculations are being based on, should be realistic figures, as installed and as verified by a third party. All materials used should be of lasting quality, making it a worthwhile investment.

The following video sums up nicely what it is all about:

The implementation of Passivhaus

When it comes to renewables and super energy efficient buildings, many think about the expense of high-end products and technology. It is true that Passivhaus revolves around high-quality products, that are lasting and retain their good performance. However, it is not just an assortment of certain products or bolted-on renewables: Clever design, a thought through holistic approach with often simple technology and high quality of workmanship are at the heart and soul of Passivhaus.

The experience in air tightness testing reveals that greatly different results can be achieved, depending on the quality of workmanship. Even with the same materials and the same house designs some dwellings in one development achieved 3 m3/(h m2) at 50 Pa, whilst others leaked more than twice the amount of air.

The same counts for design detailing: With the same materials different results can be achieved e.g. by avoiding thermal bridges, changing the surface to volume ratio and optimising of solar gains. A clever design can make a big difference in the energy performance of a building – at virtually no extra cost. What difference would it make if all design teams and trades personnel were skilled and motivated to work to true best-practice standards?!

As such the attitude of all parties involved in the building process is critical. The typical “We have always done it that way” approach is just not cutting the mustard. If we want to move towards Net Zero Energy Buildings, there needs to be a willingness to learn and adapt, as well an exchange of knowledge and experience. Passivhaus has been born by people who dared to experiment and learn. Whilst it is safe to import tried and tested high performing materials or use existing designs, the challenge is out to be creative, use or amend local materials and area specific house designs. The PHPP was made for designers to give them a tool to ‘play around’ with their designs, materials and specifications and see what impact it has on the overall energy performance. It is in essence the thermal optimisation of building physics by applying sound calculations and experience.

However, one thing is of importance when it comes to finalising designs: Avoid presumption like the plague! Do not expect a smooth and cost-efficient building experience, when there is a lack detail, preliminary figures inserted into the PHPP, the start button pressed in the anticipation that figures can be corrected, as the physical building goes up. Before anything happens on site, all figures and designs should be checked and finalized, after all relevant parties have been involved: the client, the different M&E specialists, structural engineers, etc.
A typical example is often the co-ordination (or the lack of it) of equipment in the plant room or cupboard: the boiler, cylinder, underfloor heating manifolds, MVHR unit and electrical consumer unit often have to share a relatively small space. Rather than having the different trades fighting for space when they install their equipment, a detailed layout design of the plant space, which has been approved by the trades, would make the installation smooth and much easier.


Passivhaus office in Dover – one of the first of its kind in the UK.

Passivhaus planning package, components and accreditation

The main tool for Passivhaus designers is the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP), which is an Excel based program which calculates the predicted heating demand and heating load and the other energy performance figures.
Apart from all the building components and technology, tt takes local factors into consideration, such as:
– Local climate details
– Solar gains
– Shading and predicted growth of trees/ foilage
– Wind load and shielding

The upskilling of all people involved in the design and building of such highly efficient dwellings is one of the important tasks, which the Passivhaus Institute (PHI) has recognised. It created various training courses for professionals:
– Certified Passive House Designer (architects, consultants and M&E engineers)
– Certified Passive House Tradesperson (joiner, plumber, electrician, site managers, etc.)
– Passive House Certifier

In order to ensure that no shortcuts are being made with materials and technology, the PHI has created their own certification standards. Certified components are listed on their component database under www.passiv.de

passivhaus accreditation

The Passivhaus certification

This is an extra level of security that the commissioned building will perform as intended and has been built to the required quality standards. This is especially important when it is planned to have no central heating system, but heat via air (a post heater in the MVHR system).
The Passivhaus certifier will bring additional experience to the design process, will verify all parts of the PHPP calculations and do on-site checks. This will give peace of mind to the building owner that no corners have been cut.

However, in the UK we see a trend that those who endorse Passivhaus want to save the cost of certification. Others want to utilize Passivhaus principles but don’t want to go the full mile. If the budget is very limited, we endorse to use as much passive design criteria as possible.

Its place in the quest for sustainability

In the UK various approaches have been made to categorize the sustainability in buildings. From 2010 to 2015 we had the code for sustainable homes, then the BREEAM rating and from 2011 we have the sustainability labelling in Scotland. These target the wider aspects of sustainability.

Passivhaus zooms in on more or less three aspects of sustainability: the thermal performance and energy efficiency of a building and a healthy comfortable indoor climate. It is much more than a tick box exercise, as it offers a range of practical guidance on design, specification, installation and verification/ testing. It is also a far more accurate thermal & energy calculation tool compared to SAP.

However, the focus on energy efficiency – as important as it is – should never be seen as exclusive towards other aspects of sustainability and ecology, e.g.:

  • Environmentally friendly and non-toxic materials
  • Locally sourced materials
  • Materials with low embodied energy
  • Renewable technologies
  • Energy & heat storage
  • Heat distribution & thermal mass
  • Hygroscopic materials
  • Water saving, recycling & rain water harvesting
  • Water heat recovery
  • Control systems & user friendliness
  • Longevity & life cycle costing
  • Servicing, cleanability & hygiene
  • Sustainable & future proof design
  • Sustainable transport
  • Sustainable living & community
  • Recycling & waste reduction
  • Surrounding environment, plant & animal life

As such, Passivhaus should be embedded in a sustainability concept. Any sustainable development should ideally incorporate passive principles of energy efficiency, as learnt from Passivhaus.

With the ambition to move towards Net Zero Energy Buildings, Passivhaus plays an integral part in fulfilling this aim. Unfortunately, there is an apparent lack of awareness towards energy efficiency in the built environment and the general public, which needs to be addressed in order to make high performance buildings more mainstream.

The Importance of Air Tightness and Ventilation

When we were in touch with Scottish Executive in 2007 to hear their opinion on Passivhaus, we were presented with the following answer: “Passive House will not work in Scotland as it is not a good idea to build air tight dwellings in such humid climate. On top of this, people often dry their clothes indoors, which adds to the humidity issue.”

Well, that was a comment at a time when little was known about Passivhaus in Scotland. The truth is, that Passivhaus dwellings have no problem with excessive moisture. Due to the constant operation of Heat Recovery Ventilation (MVHR) any excessive moisture is extracted. On top of this, the heat recovery process will passively dehumidify the indoor air in the colder seasons – without any extra cost.

Humidity control and dehumidification

The dehumidification effect can be quite powerful and needs to be limited. It depends on the following factors:

  • the better the real efficiency of the MVHR system,
  • the greater the difference between the inside and outside air temperatures and
  • the higher the air flow rate of the ventilation, the more will the air be de-humidified.

Too much ventilation will actually dry out the air in winter more than desired – In ventilation terms, ‘More is not better’. This effect is more of a problem in continental climates with lower external humidity levels and sustained sub-zero temperatures (often down to -20-30°C). Therefore, the UK and especially the Scottish climate lends itself better to Passivhaus and MVHR as it is generally more humid and less cold in winter.

Ideally the ventilation rate should be in line with the real occupancy of the building, in order to create an equilibrium between the dehumidification effect and the internal humidity gains from respiration, cooking, taking showers and bathing, evaporation of wet surfaces, etc.

The radical new approach

Interestingly a few years after the above comment from Scottish Executive, Scottish Building Standards increased their demands on energy efficiency in 2010, which led to much more stringent levels of air tightness of all new built homes. In fact, we are now building more or less air tight homes in Scotland, which – as predicted – struggle to be sufficiently ventilated. Mould growth in new built homes, alarming spikes in CO2 levels in bedrooms, more people affected by house dust mites and pathogens, sick house syndrome and an increase in asthma and other respiratory diseases are indicators that we dare not to overlook our indoor climate and air quality.
We find ourselves in a situation where the past ventilation strategies need to be carefully re-considered. At the end all this affects the health and wellbeing of our population as we spend a lot of time indoors.

Passivhaus has been the forerunner in taking a radical new approach in ventilation. Instead of trying to find a ‘safe’ minimum level of air infiltration through holes in your building fabric, it demonstrated that maximum air tightness in conjunction with a controlled ventilation strategy works well and achieves a much more consistent good level of indoor air quality.
Let’s look at what makes a good Passivhaus ventilation system.

Factor 1: Ventilation rates

The ventilation strategy in a Passivhaus/ Passive House is Heat Recovery Ventilation (MVHR), as it is the most efficient form of ventilation. The start of the journey to a healthy home is to determine the ventilation requirements, A) of the dwelling in general and B) of each room in particular.

The ventilation system should always be balanced (the same amount of air coming in and going out), so that it operates on its peak efficiency.

Based on sound scientific evaluations and real-life monitoring, a set of guidelines has been formed that is actually safe to be applied to any dwelling, Passivhaus or not. These are based on five different criteria:

  • The overall ventilation rate, as based on the maximum design occupancy. This ensures that enough fresh air comes into the dwelling in order to sustain a good indoor air quality level (IDA 2) for all occupants. 30 m3/h of fresh air supply per person is the golden rule.
  • The fresh air requirement for each habitable room; for the same reasons as above. E.g. bedrooms should have 20 m3/h of fresh air supply per person. At night we need a little less fresh air, compared to when we are awake and active. It is our opinion that it is sensible to reduce this value for guest bedrooms which are not often in use.

The fresh air requirement for living spaces and offices depend on their use, size and overheating risk.

  • The extract requirements for wet rooms, kitchens and rooms with pollution sources.

For different type of rooms following minimum values are given:

  • Kitchen: 46 m3/h | 60 m3/h in boost mode
  • Bathroom or shower room: 31 m3/h | 40 m3/h in boost mode
  • Utility, WC or storage: 15 m3/h | 20 m3/h in boost mode

If these rooms have no openable windows, these values might need to be increased.

These values reflect more or less the English Building Standards as set out in the Approved Document F.

  • The overall recommended air exchange rate per hour should be kept between 0.3 and 0.35. This should ensure that pollutants e.g. Formaldehydes evaporating from carpets should sufficiently be flushed out. Here the PH guidelines distinguish themselves from all other standards, which operate with higher minimum air exchange rates (England: 0.45 to 0.48 ach, Scotland: 0.5 ach).

We are of the opinion that with the careful consideration of the ventilation requirements according to previous three criteria a much more demand oriented and focussed result will be achieved than by setting forth a high air exchange standard, based on volume or floor area alone. Such one-size-fits-all approach will inevitably lead to underventilation in smaller dwellings and massive overventilation in larger sized properties and will often not result in the optimised ventilation rates in each of the rooms.

In this context it is worth considering non-toxic building materials and furnishings, which do not emit an unhealthy mix of chemicals into the indoor environment. It is always better to deal with the source of pollution, rather than trying to mitigate its effects.

  • Different ventilation levels: A Passivhaus MVHR is operated on three to four levels, depending on the specific usage of the dwelling at a given time. In contrast, standard MVHR systems operate only on two levels: trickle and boost.
  • Fan speed 1: Reduced ventilation (typically 70% of level 1) when only one person is at home or none, e.g. during the day when everybody is out.
  • Fan speed 2: Nominal ventilation level: when the house is occupied (2 or more people).
  • Fan speed 3 or boost: Increased ventilation (typically 130% of level 2), normally used only short term, whenever needed, e.g. to accelerate the extraction of humidity or smells.
  • Un-occupied or trickle: This is the holiday mode of ventilation, which maintains a minimum of ventilation when the dwelling is not in use for extended periods.

The following chart gives an overview of the Passivhaus guidelines compared to the  Scottish standards for continuous ventilation.

Passivhaus

Factor 2: The heat recovery system (MVHR)

Although not easily distinguishable for the untrained eye, there is a massive difference between a Passivhaus MVHR unit and a standard one. Their controls, their real performance, down to the way they are being tested is completely different. The Passivhaus certification is more realistic than the standard test methodologies and flags up poorly insulated units.

A Passivhaus MVHR should perform to following criteria:

  • Comfort factor: The supply air temperature must to be provided at 16.5°C or more, even when outdoor temperatures are at -10°C. This rule should prevent cold drafts and reduce the space heating demand.
  • Efficiency: The effective heat recovery rate at a mass flow balanced operation should be more 75% or more (at outdoor temperatures between -15°C and +10°C, measured with dry extract air). Therefore, the housing needs to be well insulated all round and thermal bridge-free, so that thermal losses are minimised.
  • Correct size of MVHR unit to prevent excessive energy use and wear & tear. For the building certification, the nominal airflow has to be within the certified range, the reduced or boost modes which are used only for limited time period per day (e.g. 1 hour boost for cooking per day) can be out of the certified range, but not more than 30 % above/below the upper/lower limit of the certified airflow range.
  • Frost protection: In most cases Passivhaus MVHR units has to have a defrost pre-heater for continuous high performance at outdoor temperatures down to -15°C. A temporal defrost switch off mode is not allowed. A safety back up, that system needs to switch off and display a warning, if in danger of frost.
  • Electrical efficiency: 0.45W/(m3/h) at the nominal flow rate.
  • Air tightness: 3% internal and external leakage, based on the extract air flow rate.
  • Balancing & adjustability: The intake and exhaust flow rate balance needs to be adjustable. The flow rates should be adjustable in three steps: 70% | 100% | 130%

With advance of technology new MVHR systems should operate volume-flow constant or mass-flow constant, in order to avoid drops in flow rates and dis-balancing.

  • Quiet operation: The noise level in the plant room (wherever the MVHR is situated) should be less than 35 dB(A) with an equivalent of 4 m3 of absorption area.
    • In all habitable rooms it should be below 25 dB(A)
    • and in all non-habitable rooms below 30 dB(A)
  • Hygiene: The intake air should be filtered with a ISO ePM2.5 60% (F7) filter, the extract air with an ISO coarse 80% (G4).
  • Humidity control: For dwellings with a larger discrepancy of real occupancy levels and ventilation demand, the option of humidity recovery should be given, in order to avoid over-dehumidification. This point was added by the author.

Passivhaus criteria for ductwork:

  • Smooth inner surface of all ducting types used.
  • Plastic (PVC and PE) ducting needs to have an anti-static inner lining.
  • Use of flexible ducting is to be avoided, due to pressure drops, cleanability and noise issues.
  • Air tight connections of all components that do no deteriorate over time. E.g. duct tape would not be sufficient as air tightness measure.
  • De-coupling of ductwork connections with the MVHR unit to avoid vibration transfer. Recommended: Canvas or rubber connectors.
  • Maximum length of 1.5m for the intake and exhaust ducting and their vapour proof insulation (if placed within the thermal envelope). These values will be used in the PHPP to determine the in-situ overall efficiency of the MVHR system. Shorter lengths and better insulation will improve the efficiency.
  • Correct dimensioning of the external terminals with enough free area.

The recommended ducting materials are exceeding the common practice standards in the UK.

(see MVHR guide for a comparison of systems)

Factor 3: Commissioning and Handover of MVHR systems

Whole house MVHR systems need a professional commissioning service at the end of the installation. The commissioning involves a calibrated air flow anemometer.

The commissioning checks and adjusts the following:

  • It ensures that everything has been installed correctly,
  • that all components work as they should,
  • that sufficient access for maintenance is possible,
  • that filters and ductwork are in clean condition,
  • that there is no leakage in the ductwork,
  • checking and adjusting of the MVHR unit,
  • making sure that the output of the system is right and balanced and
  • all room outlets are measured, adjusted and locked in position as per design flow rates.

These are the maximum tolerances on the measured flow rates are:

  • Overall balance of the system: Max. 10% disbalance between supply and extract. The less the better.
  • Flow rates per room: Max. 15% deviation from the design values.

After the commissioning every system should be handed over to the end-user. All user manuals and a brief guidance on how to use and maintain the system should be passed on.

It is important that the occupants understand the reason why a ventilation system is installed and that the system will work for their health and will save them much more energy than it costs to run. If the users are not ‘on board’ they will likely not operate or maintain the system correctly or switch it off.

The handover should inform the user also about:

  • The use of the ventilation levels
  • The summer bypass and how to adjust temperatures
  • How and how often do the filters need checked, cleaned and changed.

Passivhaus Heating & Energy Management Solutions

What type of space heating is used in a Passivhaus is one of the important decisions at the outset of each project. There is no uniform approach, but one thing is certain: There is no Passivhaus/ Passive house in the Northern hemisphere without space heating. Although the heating demand and load can be minimised, there needs to be provision for those cold days when there are no solar gains. In fact, half of Europe’s Passive House dwellings have a central space heating system, however little it is being used. Any heat source will be possible in principle:

  • Gas or oil
  • Air source or ground source heat pumps
  • Biomass
  • Wood stoves, possibly with back boiler
  • Solar thermal panels with over-sized thermal store
  • Efficient electrical heaters
  • Fuel cell technology

The original idea of Dr. Feist, to generally do away with a central heating system and just have a back up heater in the MVHR, a so called ‘post heater’, has shown to be not always possible and it is attached with a few risks. Although heating via air has been successfully implemented in 10,000’s of projects, it is now generally recommended to separate the space heating from the ventilation. To design a house that is heated mainly by a post heater, needs a good bit of home work (sound PHPP calculations) and another important ingredient: experience. The Passivhaus Institute recommends to every new certified Passivhaus Designer that they should at least build and monitor 3 dwellings with central heating, before designing one without.

Heating via air/ post heater

Not all certified Passivhaus/ Passive House dwellings can be heated by a post heater. It mainly depends on the heat load. The finished PHPP will tell, if this is the case.

The most common post heater is a central warm water post heater. It is a water-to-air heat exchanger that is positioned in the supply air ductwork, often close to the MVHR unit. The heat output of such a post heater depends on the air flow rate and the water temperature, ranging typically between 1.5kW and 3kW. It is also limited by the maximum desirable air temperature of 52°C. Beyond that smells of burning dust particles can occur. The water temperature should be between 50°C and 70°C. The higher the temperature the more the heat transfer.

As it is difficult to achieve water temperatures in this range with heat pumps, these are not the ideal partner for a post heater. We have done it and it worked, but its borderline. Hot water generated by solar thermal panels and immersion heater is not a suitable combination, as at the post heaters will be needed on those days without sunshine, when solar panels do not have a good heat output.

The post heater is controlled by a room thermostat, that links to either a motorised valve or a dedicated pump, which enable or disable the hot water flow through the heater battery.

passivhaus air heater

In order to prevent the dissipation of heat along the supply duct runs, it is recommended to wrap the supply ductwork following the post heater with 25mm of insulation, e.g. duct wrap.

Please note that a central post heater will blanket the dwelling with heat. The amount of heat introduced into a particular room will depend on its supply air flow rate and any dissipation of heat through the ductwork. Therefore, it will be more difficult to heat larger dwellings with un-uniform heat losses with a central post heater. For such dwellings de-central post heaters will be a better option. These are often used with radial/ semi-rigid ducting and can be placed either centrally or before each room terminal.

Electrical post heaters, either centrally or for individual rooms are also possible.

If you would like to build a dwelling without central heating or incorporate a post heater, please contact us in the early design stages. We have got some extensive experience in this matter and are happy to discuss your aspirations with you.

Finally, it needs to me mentioned that post heaters will only heat air supply rooms. Bathrooms and en-suits need a separate heater, e.g. a heated towel rail.

Wood stoves and Heat distribution in a Passive House

Some thought needs to be put into the heat distribution in Passive Houses, especially if no central heating system is planned. Please note that the MVHR is no heat distribution system as such. It will distribute heat to a certain extent, but it will not equalize temperatures throughout the building. A temperature differentiation of 4-6 degrees can be achieved. Talk to us about your project if you would like to get more advice.

A few house builders like the idea of a wood stove, but some Passivhaus designers have discouraged using stoves. Although the Passivhaus Institute raises concerns over conventional wood stoves with a fresh air opening from the room, room-sealed stoves are a different matter. These take the necessary fresh air from a duct connected from the outside directly into the combustion chamber. This way the air tightness integrity of the dwelling is maintained. If you intend to install a wood stove, we would recommend to use such room-independent stoves.

In such case we recommend to place the air supply outlet close to the stove and over-specify the supply air flow. This way some of the heat build-up around the stove can be distributed throughout the dwelling towards the extract terminals. Also, a supply terminal will build up some positive pressure, which will work against the possible drawing of combustion fumes into the dwelling.

We have also done some experimental set-up, where the client wanted to distribute more heat from a wood stove throughout the house with the MVHR.

At the end I would like to mention that a post heaters can also be used to supplement the space heating, e.g.

  • in the case of a dwelling with a wood stove or
  • when underfloor heating is used to heat the ground floor, a post heater can serve the first floor.

All these arrangements for heat distribution need to be carefully analysed on a case by case basis. Please contact us if you are interested in such set up.

Costs of a Passivhaus

Innovation costs associated with early Passivhaus projects are now reducing as the methodology has become more widely adopted. This new analysis shows that the extra costs associated with building to the Passivhaus standard in the UK has reduced over the past three years and, as of 2018, best practice costs were around 8% higher than comparable non-Passivhaus projects.

However, removing the costs associated with quality assurance (to eliminate the performance gap this should be done regardless) and considering further development of skills, expertise and supply chain maturity, indicates that extra costs could come down to around 4% or less. In the context of other factors which result in higher build costs (high quality, high performance building products, design form, ground conditions etc), this becomes a minor uplift for a far superior product in terms of running costs, carbon emissions, and additional co-benefits such as comfort & health levels.

Overall, this study has shown that the Passivhaus standard in the UK can be achieved now for a modest extra-over cost and this is likely to reduce to nominal levels if adopted at scale. (content from the Passivhaus Trust 2019)

Myth1: A Passive House does not need heating

This is a very common mis-conception. About half of the European certified Passivhaus dwellings have a central heating system; The rest still needs a backup heater, e.g. post heater in the MVHR system, as every house has heat losses, even if they are minimal. In cold periods when there is no solar gains for a couple of days, some heat input is needed to keep the internal temperatures at a comfortable level.
If you endeavour to build a house without central heating, please talk to us in the early design stage about this. We are happy to assist you in designing the MVHR system to meet your needs.

Myth 2: You cannot open windows in a Passive House

This myth stems from the operation of air conditioning systems, which actively (electrically) heat or cool with re-cycling of air. With each air cycle heat or cold is introduced. The opening of windows breaks this cycle and renders the system useless, whilst all the kWh’s of energy used for heating or cooling are being lost.

MVHR operates in a completely different way, as the air is not re-cycled and is heated or cooled passively, without heating or cooling elements (unless a post heater is installed).
So, feel free to open windows and doors. In summer you can then turn down the MVHR. In the cold time of the year, you will want to limit the opening of windows to retain the heat inside.

Myth 3: A MVHR system will distribute heat from a wood stove around the house

Although our high-performance MVHR systems cut out almost all ventilation losses, the system will in itself not level out the temperatures between heated and un-heated rooms. Temperature differences of 4-10 degrees between rooms can still be achieved, depending on the ventilation volumes and internal heat transfer.
We can offer experimental ways of heat distribution.
Please talk to us in the early design stage if you intend to use the MVHR for heat distribution.

Passivhaus Sections

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