Passivhaus: Collaborative & holistic approach to Low Energy Design

 
 
 

What is Passivhaus?

Passivhaus is fundamentally an energy, comfort and quality standard that has been around for over 30 years. Over this time, it has demonstrated through rigorous modelling, on site review, independent certification and post occupancy data that what is designed is delivered, eliminating the performance gap that exists in current construction practices.

What is the performance gap?

The performance gap is the name given to the widely evidenced discrepancy in building performance during occupation vs what was designed. In some cases, this can represent as much as a 100-150% increase in energy usage, placing a significant burden on owner / occupant bills, health and comfort.

Passivhaus: a comfort standard

Whilst most people will point to the vast reduction in energy usage achieved in Passivhaus design, what is sometimes overlooked is the comfort criteria that drives the energy reduction. A certified Passivhaus will deliver fresh air without drafts, provide uniform heat across the whole building, eliminate issues with damp & mould and reduce overheating, all whilst using minimal energy. This helps to maintain occupant comfort, health and above all, satisfaction.

Demonstrating Compliance

In order to achieve Passivhaus certification it is necessary to be able to demonstrate compliance through design, specification, rigorous modelling and on-site verification to independent certifiers. These are key elements to maintaining and verifying the standard and ensuring quality. 

Passivhaus: a quality standard

By following the certification process and achieving compliance, Passivhaus helps ensure quality in construction, both at design stage and crucially during construction. Independent on-site quality checks are crucial to achieving compliance to ensure that what was designed is installed. In this way we believe Passivhaus helps reduce risk for clients, providing a reliable route to accessing public funding streams that are linked to building performance e.g. LEIP, whilst also ensuring that what clients are paying for is delivered as an end product. 

How can we help?

Whilst Passivhaus is simple in its aims and targets we recognise that it can represent a level of complexity that can be daunting for some clients, but we are here to help.

As an adopter of Passivhaus and a member of the Passivhaus Trust, Holmes Miller has been working on and delivering significant Passivhaus projects with our own certified Passivhaus designers as well as in collaboration with our sister company Sussed. 

As a leading proponent of sustainable architecture and Passivhaus design, Holmes Miller remain committed to delivering more Passivhaus projects with our clients in the years to come and embedding Passivhaus principles in everything we do.

Holmes Miller’s track record on Passivhaus includes;

Further to our Passivhaus design and supporting architectural services Holmes Miller can offer the following additional supplementary services;

  • U-value Calculations

  • 2D & 3D Thermal Bridge Analysis

  • Surface Condensation Risk Analysis

  • PHPP (Passivhaus Planning Package) assessment for Passivhaus, Staged Retrofit and none Passivhaus projects

  • Passivhaus Designer / Consultant Roles

  • AECB Approved Modeller Role

  • Upfront Carbon / Whole Life Carbon Assessment