Passive house, or how to save on heating and air conditioning

Passive house construction has become more and more popular in Poland in recent years. This is related to the increase in human awareness of environmental protection, but also the need to save energy needed to heat and use the house. There are many companies on the market offering such solutions and this is also the reason for many myths about passive construction, especially in terms of energy efficiency. Therefore, it is worth emphasizing that every passive house is energy-efficient, but not every energy-efficient house is a passive house.

Table of contents

• Passive house – energy efficiency in the foreground
• Passive house – heating
• Passive House – Air Conditioning
• How to save on heating and air conditioning?

Passive house – energy efficiency in the foreground

The essence of a passive house is its energy efficiency, expressed in the demand for energy needed to heat the house. In the case of passive construction, this indicator is a maximum of 15 kWh/m²/year, which in terms of the amount of heating oil needed to heat 1 m² of the house throughout the year, gives only 1.5 liters. Therefore, it is an extremely low value.

Achieving such an energy demand index is possible by:

• the appropriate body of the building – simple and compact on the basis of a rectangle, without unnecessary elements, such as bay windows, balconies, multi-slope roofs;
• large glazing on the south side – maximum absorption of solar energy is possible through the use of large glazing on the south side and preferably none from other parts of the world;
• airtightness of the building – the air cannot have free access to the building, this can be achieved by, for m.in, eliminating thermal bridges;
• passive windows with low solar conductivity (max. 0.8 W/(m²/K));
• low heat transfer coefficients – external walls of a passive building must not exceed the value of 0.10 W/(m²/K);
• use of mechanical ventilation with recuperation;
• Proper location on the plot – the house must be glazed towards the south, and the façade from this side cannot be covered by trees, terrain or buildings.

Passive house heating

The appropriate design of the house and the proper location of the passive building on the plot is aimed at maximizing the degree of heat recovery, which is generated both during the functioning of the household and from the process of assimilation of sunlight. This allows you to heat the building at close to zero costs. Heat energy in passive construction is recovered from the following sources:

• natural heat generated by household members (so-called internal gains);
• energy created during household chores (cooking, cleaning);
• heat emitted from electrical equipment;
• Rays.

With the additional use of photovoltaic panels, the passive house becomes self-sufficient in terms of energy.

Air conditioning in a passive house

The essence of passive construction is its ventilation system. The effect of cool air in summer and warm air in winter, apart from the structure of the house itself, is achieved not by air conditioners, but by mechanical ventilation, which guarantees effective air exchange regardless of weather conditions and reduces heat loss. The recuperator recovers the exhaust heat (generated at home) and saturates the supply air with it. Energy recovery reaches up to 90%. With the use of filters, this air is clean, humidified and always fresh, providing an extraordinary comfort of the home microclimate. Thanks to this, when building a passive house, air conditioning becomes completely unnecessary.

How to save on heating and air conditioning?

The answer is simple – choose a passive house. Only thanks to such solutions, you have a guarantee of practically zero-cost heating of the building, because all natural energy sources are used through the appropriate recovery of heat from them. With a passive house, heating ceases to be any problem. It should be remembered that when deciding to build a passive house, use the services of a properly certified company with experience in the industry.

Read also what to build an energy-efficient house from. Welcome!