We started our passive house experiment about fifteen years ago.
With our company slowly shifting from traditional house building to Low-Energy and then to Passive houses.
After some years we decided to build our own. Designed together, thinking over every aspect for two years. We started the build half of August and moved in the first of February. In six months we created our 400 sqm passive house.
After finishing we could not believe how comfortable it was.
The house kept an even temperature during all seasons, this was achieved by adding double insulating layers. 14 centimeters between studs, covered by ply sheathing. Then adding 12 centimeters on the exterior, creating a barrier with no thermal breaks.
Just like a coat you put on.
The concrete floor had one layer on insulation on top, covered with reflecting foil and underfloor heat pipes This lot was covered with a screed layer and floor finishing.
A gas heater kept the floor at a steady low temperature during the winter.
Roof insulation was not laying loose on the ceiling with gaps and holes but installed snug between the roof rafters and covered with reflecting foil. Beams between floors were also filled with Insulation. Creating a complete insulating package of 28 centimeters.
Upvc with triple Low-E glazing and an U-value of 0.6 completed the shell.
The triple glazing eliminated all cold radiation and also created a sound barrier of 40db.
No more wind or street noise.
A permanent ventilation system kept the air healthy without the need to open windows.
This air was brought into the house trough underground pipes, thus cooling the air in summer and preheating in winter. The temperature at a certain depth under the ground is always constant. The ventilated air also went trough a heat exchanger, heating the fresh air with the extracted air. A Hepa filter kept the fresh air free from contamination and pollen.
Ideal for asthmatic people.
As I mentioned before, we covered all walls with double sheeting on both sides and insulation in between, even the interior walls.
This created more mass and solid walls. No more sound leaking from room to room.
No more problems with hanging stuff on the walls.
Keeping the soffits at about one metre, kept the sun out during the summer and letting the rays in during winter times.
Creating a round pergola covered in green helped keeping the warmth out.
Would we recommend a passive house to other people?
Absolutely!
If you care about the best comfort, a healthy interior, the environment and have the extra cash to spend, go for it !
People spending time in our house were overwhelmed by the comfort it provided.
So what's a passive house:
According to the Passive house institute, it's a house that does not use more than 15kWh of energy per sqm to heat the house to 20 degrees Celcius.
Based on local climate data. This means a hair dryer would be able to heat a 100 sqm house.
The most important heat source will be the sun, with all the big windows facing North.
A passive house reduces the CO2 emission with 52% compared with a regular house.
Preventing overheating in summer and the use of air conditioning.
Use up to 60 kWh/m2 per year primary energy (for heating, hot water and electricity).
The house has to be build airtight keeping the heat loss at a minimum.
Leak air- up to 0.6 times the house volume per hour at 50 Pa (0.0073 psi) tested by a blower door test.
Original source: Passivhaus Institut, Germany – http://www.passiv.de
