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The term passive house (Passivhaus in German) refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in buildings. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. The standard is not confined only to residential properties; several office buildings, schools, kindergartens and supermarkets have also been constructed to the standard. |
Technical Requirements:
- The building must be designed to have an annual heating demand as calculated with the Passivhaus Planning Package of not more than 15 kWh/m² per year in heating and 15 kWh/m² per year cooling energy and to be designed with a peak heat load of 10W/m²
- Total primary energy (source energy for electricity and etc.) consumption (primary energy for heating, hot water and electricity) must not be more than 120 kWh/m² per year
- The building must not leak more air than 0.6 times the house volume per hour (n50 ≤ 0.6 / hour) at 50 Pa (N/m²) as tested by a blower door.
Fore Enterprises Ltd. undertakes complete design of passive house buildings using the PHPP 2007 design package. We also prepare applications for passive house certification and can undertale passive house consultancy for buildings that have already been granted planning permission.
Our view is that the future of construction is in passive house and low energy construction. This is why we participated in the first English language course to become a 'Certified European Passive House Designer' and undertake regular training and inspection trips abroad to countries where the Passive House standard is more established.
For more information on passive house construction go to http://www.passivhaustagung.de/Passive_House_E/passivehouse.html, phone us on 044 9661144 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house
