Passive House design
What is a passive house?
The terminology Passivhaus or passive house appears for the first time in Germany in the 80s. At that precise moment, a more efficient housing concept, still unknown to many today, began to be talked about with force, which aims to build houses with very low energy consumption. A new construction system that, at the same time, turned out to be very attractive for many architects and designers of our times.
In fact, the Passive House ended up being an essential concept to keep the environment intact and reduce pollution figures, as well as to increase savings in the electricity bills of any homeowner.
Passivhaus: Building details
The houses that follow the Passive House model do without active heating systems, since they make the most of the sunlight entering the house, as well as the heat generated by the inhabitants of the house and the heat given off by the different domestic devices that are used daily inside the home. In fact, the basic principle of this type of houses or dwellings is to maintain a comfortable temperature, around 20ºC, whether it is winter or summer.
At this point, you may be wondering… How is it possible to maintain an adequate room temperature without resorting to the classic heating or cooling system? Well, there are many construction factors that are taken into account when building a passive house or dwelling.
For example, for the windows and enclosures of the entire home, some of the most efficient thermal insulation is used. As well as different heat exchange systems between each and every one of the rooms of the house. Below, we explain some of the guidelines or criteria that are followed to the letter in the construction of this type of sustainable and 100% efficient houses:
The use of bioclimatic architecture for the construction of houses is fundamental in the Passive House model. Therefore, before making any firm plan or proposal, the climate of the area where the house is going to be built is studied first. In fact, it is essential to know the sunny days of the year, as well as the rainy seasons and even if it can snow or freeze heavily in certain seasons of the year.
Based on the climate, the best building materials are also determined. The raw materials chosen are those that are most environmentally friendly and efficient for the housing environment. Products that, in no case, diminish the quality or comfort of the house. In fact, there are materials with Passivhaus certification, all of them indispensable for the construction of this type of houses.
Advantages of energy efficient and efficient houses or Passive House
Taking into account everything we have seen so far, it is clear that passive houses and single-family houses are a revolution. But, in case you are still not clear about their virtues, here are some of their advantages:
-An immediate reduction in the electricity bill, which means savings in the medium term
-Responsible energy consumption
-Lower environmental impact
-Greater comfort, since it is not necessary to constantly control the air conditioning. The passive house is an environment with basic and constant conditions that are much more comfortable than any other type of house
-A longer useful life and a lower cost of repairs and renovations. Since the passive house uses high quality and environmentally friendly materials
