We offer our clients the benefits of sustainable and low energy design from our initial discussions and meetings. This can then be developed further into providing the services and skills to advance the project using the Passive House Standard, an ultra low energy approach to building which can dramatically reducing fuel requirements, improve internal air quality and comfort level within the property. Once seen as a niche approach for a small minority, its influence is growing rapidly.
Passive House components
The Passive House concept represents the state-of-the-art technical solution for energy-efficient building. The main components of a Passive House building include:
- Excellent thermal insulation
- Avoiding thermal bridges; air and wind-tight construction of the building envelope
- Coordinated passive solar components; quality, size and orientation of windows
- High-performance ventilation unit
- Energy-efficient electrical installations
When embarking on a Passive House standard building there has to be full commitment by all members of the project, from the client to the design team and every tradesperson and contractor who contributes to the build. A knowledge and understanding of how the standard is achieved should be installed in all involved in the project from the very beginning. To achieve the standard and obtain certification, the following information is checked by the Passive House Academy in Dublin (accredited by the German Passivhaus Institut as a Passive House Certification body)
- the project design
- construction details
- climate and site context are modeled in the latest version of the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP), the essential energy balancing tool required to plan Passive House projects
- performance certificates for key elements of the project
- photographic evidence of construction details
- on-site independent test results for such aspects as airtightness and balancing of ventilation equipment