There are five key Certified Passive House design principles;
1
Air Tightness
Elimination of drafts.
2
Super-insulated & thermal bridge-free envelope
Retain heat energy.
3
Heat recovery ventilation (MVHR) Recycles heat energy & provides fresh air.
4
Water tightness
Essential for building durability.
5
High-performance joinery
Building enclosure
Passive House
A Certified Passive House is not just a building; it’s a home of comfort and warmth that looks after you and the planet. The air is pure, it’s cosy in winter and refreshingly cool in summer, and it has reduced energy bills, helping you to tread lightly on the planet.
A Certified Passive House is a well-insulated, quiet, airtight building heated by passive energy gain. This means the building maintains a consistent, comfortable level with only minimal heating and cooling input – hence, ‘passive’.
The benchmark in energy-efficient buildings, Certified Passive Houses require minimal energy to maintain a constant internal temperature throughout the year. The design-led approach sets new standards for insulation, ventilation, and energy savings, creating a high-efficiency performance and delivering a comfortable, healthy, and cosy environment for your family.
This consistent temperature is attained by developing a high-performance building envelope or shell. The building interior is encased with an airtightness layer, which prevents heat loss and draughts and protects against moisture damage in the building structure.
This envelope, or shell, comprises high-quality insulation in floors, walls, and ceilings to ensure optimal thermal performance. Windows and doors and their framing also must meet strict standards. Specific design systems are employed in passive homes to eliminate areas of thermal bridging where heat loss can occur.
A Certified Passive House will sit at 20-22° all year round with minimal energy input.
Various control layers work together in a building to create an efficient and comfortable living environment. In the context of passive house design, these control layers are intentionally kept continuous and unbroken, much like the layers of an onion, forming protective shells around the structure.
Sophisticated heat recovery systems create a fresh indoor environment, while filtered air is ventilated to your family’s living spaces. Heat exchange systems capture up to around 90% of the warmth in the air and return it to the living environment. Passive houses are healthy homes, creating nurturing environments for where your family lives.
Using low-impact materials, Certified Passive House design principles and a fabric-first approach, Barefoot Architecture homes achieve a low-carbon ecological footprint, meaning the construction and lifetime operation create less environmental impact. What is good for you is also good for the earth.
Cleverly and carefully designed, a Certified Passive House follows a building standard that is truly energy efficient, comfortable, affordable, and ecological at the same time. It is designed to optimise the health and well-being of those inside it while consuming very little energy.
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