What Is Passive House Design?

Rising energy costs, climate concerns, and a growing awareness of healthy living environments mean more people are looking for ways to make their homes energy efficient.

As a proud passive house certified architect practice, we know passivhaus design has huge benefits for both the environment and your quality of life. At VESP, our goal is to seamlessly blend the precision of passive house design with modern architecture, so your home feels as good as it looks.

Here’s our guide to what passive house design is, why it matters and the principles that guide it.

What is a passive house?

Passive house design originated in Germany in the 1990s, under the name Passivhaus. It’s an international construction standard that focuses on creating ultra-energy-efficient structures – it’s the gold standard for sustainable, comfortable, and efficient buildings.

Unlike traditional homes (that rely heavily on heating and cooling systems), a passive house uses clever design, insulation, and airtightness to minimise energy loss – consuming up to 90% less energy than a conventional building – and maximise comfort with a steady indoor temperature.

The normal route to building a passive house is through a new-build home. However, homes can be retrofitted to meet the exacting standards of Passivhaus. This retrofit standard is known and EnerPHit, and whilst a slightly lower performance than a newbuild, is still exceptionally good in comparison to non passive house buildings.

What are the principles of passive house design?

Passive house design is based on five core principles:

• Superior insulation

Thick, continuous insulation prevents heat from escaping in the winter and keeps it out in the summer. The walls, roofs, and floors of a building are carefully designed to eliminate weak points.

• Airtight construction

A passive house must be meticulously sealed to prevent unwanted air leaks. This not only ensures energy efficiency, but also enhances soundproofing and overall comfort.

• High-performance windows and doors

Triple-glazed windows and insulated frames allow for maximum natural light while minimising heat transfer.

• Thermal bridge elimination

Thermal bridges are weak spots in the building envelope where heat can bypass insulation. In passive house design, thermal bridges are eliminated through careful design and construction.

• Heat recovery ventilation

A mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery ensures a constant supply of fresh air without energy loss. It filters incoming air, making the indoor environment healthier, while capturing warmth from outgoing air in colder months.

The simple aim of the five Passivhaus principles is to ensure the building has incredibly low heating energy requirements. The target set is 3-4 times less than a standard new build home, and nearly 10 times less than an average UK home.

What choose to build a passive house?

At VESP, know how transformative passive house design can be for homeowners, offering consistent indoor temperatures and dramatically reduced utility bills. An added benefit is constant filtered fresh air, which reduces allergens, pollutants, and moisture buildup, leading to a cleaner, healthier indoor environment.

The incredibly thermally efficient, and well-sealed building envelope means the heating requirements are minimal. lower energy consumption means a significant reduction in carbon emissions, making passive house certified buildings exceptionally environmentally friendly.

Passive house certified projects

When a project is passive house certified, it means it has been independently verified to meet the rigorous international standard set by the Passive House Institute (PHI) in Germany. Certification isn’t just a label; it provides assurance that your home or building has been designed and built to the highest performance criteria.

As a passive house certified architects practice, we’re passionate about designing spaces that seamlessly combine inspirational design, performance and sustainability. We guide our clients through every stage of the process from initial concept and design modeling, to working closely with contractors during construction, and finally through certification.

VESP architects are in the process of building their very own Passive House certified office in Ashburton, Devon – one of the first passive house offices in the South West.

If you want to explore the benefits of passive house design, we’d love speak with you, and can help guide you through the process from start to completion.