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How to plan the layout of rooms in a passive house?

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A passive house must be designed in such a way that heat loss is as low as possible. Designers strive for such an ideal situation when the building is practically self-sufficient. For this to happen, it is necessary to properly arrange the rooms in the passive building. The project should assume the most effective use of the potential of the external environment. Passive construction is based on renewable energy sources. How to plan the layout of rooms in a passive house?

 

Zoned layout of rooms in a passive house

The zonal layout of rooms in a passive house is about grouping rooms. The criterion here is the temperature that should be maintained in a given room for the thermal comfort of the residents. In addition, the heating system that is required is taken into account.

The general rules are simple, but you need to remember about them already at the stage of designing the house. The layout of rooms in a passive house should be well thought out and preferably consulted with an expert. Rooms where the same temperatures are required should be located next to each other or above each other, this applies to, m.in bedrooms or bathrooms. It is important to be aware that the flow between adjacent rooms is inevitable. The best method is to rank the rooms from the coldest to the warmest. This means that we start, for example, with a garage, then there are utility rooms and then rooms.

Grouping rooms with similar functions and purposes also helps in the design of installations. Heat losses are reduced as much as possible, which translates into lower bills. It is also worth considering whether there will be rooms in the house that are used less often. These include, m.in, guest rooms. If possible, let them be in the attic. We try to isolate them from the whole. When such rooms are not used, the temperature can be lowered.

 

How to plan the layout of rooms in a passive house

 

Arrangement of rooms in a passive building in relation to the cardinal directions

The orientation of the building is crucial in this case. It depends on it to what extent what the external environment offers us will be used. In some rooms, we need a higher temperature, while in others, a slightly lower temperature is desirable. The arrangement of rooms in a passive building is largely dependent on the number of hours of sunshine during the day. On the sunniest side, i.e. south, south-west and south-east, there should be living rooms, i.e. bedrooms, kitchen and living room. However, there are rooms in homes that we use less often and where the temperature can and sometimes even must be lower. These are certainly the pantry, staircase and vestibule.

The size of the windows is also important. To make the most of solar energy, the windows on the sunniest side should be large. At the same time, it should be remembered that large glazing can cause greater heat loss in winter. Therefore, when choosing windows, you should always pay attention to the heat transfer coefficient. The lower it is, the better the protection against such losses.

 

The body of the building

In energy-efficient construction, maximally compact solids are most often used. The building should have the most regular shape possible. For this reason, passive houses are most often cube or cuboid shaped and are distinguished by a flat, mono-pitched roof. Such a roof has one more advantage. It is easier to mount solar panels on it.

The layout of rooms in a passive house is therefore of great importance for heat loss and maximum use of the potential of solar energy. Therefore, it is crucial to properly group rooms, locate them appropriately in relation to the cardinal directions and arrange them from the coldest to the warmest.