Passive House and Low Energy Buildings: Barriers and Opportunities for Future Development within UK Practice

Passivhaus or Passive House buildings are low-energy buildings in which the design is driven by quality and comfort, hence achieving acceptable levels of comfort through post-heating or post-cooling of fresh air. Additionally, Passivhaus building design follows the Passivhaus design criteria, as described in the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). This article aims to introduce the Passivhaus background, development, and basic design principles. Finally, it also presents a brief description of the performance of Passivhaus buildings.

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Key Technologies and Trends of Passive Buildings

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.672-674.1859 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 672-674 ◽

pp. 1859-1862

Author(s):

Li Zhong Shi ◽

Ye Min Zhang

Keyword(s):

Building Materials ◽

Green Building ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Low Energy ◽

Passive House ◽

Green Building Materials ◽

Low Energy Consumption ◽

Key Technologies ◽

Low Energy Buildings ◽

Passive Houses

In recent years, ‘passive house’ is an increasingly well-known word, and has gained rapid popularity and application in Europe and other developed countries. Currently, residential passive house is growing at 8% annually in Europe. With its low energy consumption and ultra-high comfort, it is acclaimed as the most promising energy-saving substitute of conventional residences of this century. The passive houses in Hamburg Germany use 75% less energy than the normal low-energy buildings, more than 90% less than conventional German buildings [1]. As reported by the National Conference of Green Building Materials and German Passive House Technology held from 22nd to 25th April 2014, passive house will certainly become the mainstream building in the country in the next three to five years.

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Fire Protection Aspects of Low-Energy Buildings

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.899.543 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 899 ◽

pp. 543-551

Author(s):

Lajos Gábor Takács

Keyword(s):

Fire Protection ◽

Structure Design ◽

Low Energy ◽

Building Structure ◽

Passive House ◽

Timber Frame ◽

Low Energy Buildings ◽

Passive Houses ◽

In Fire ◽

Thermal Insulations

Structures of low energy buildings and passive houses are different from traditional buildings: thick thermal insulations often made of combustible materials -, lightweight skeleton frame loadbearing structures, timber frame constructions are common. Based on laboratory tests of lightweight building products, building structure design principles and the first fire events in passive houses, this article summarizes the main fire protection problems of passive house structures and gives recommendations for appropriate construction of these houses in fire protection aspects.

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A Tool for Optimal Refurbishment Design of Low-Energy Buildings

Journal of Physics Conference Series ◽

10.1088/1742-6596/2042/1/012164 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2042 (1) ◽

pp. 012164

Author(s):

I Salerno ◽

M F Anjos ◽

K McKinnon ◽

E S Mazzucchelli

Keyword(s):

Mathematical Optimization ◽

Building Design ◽

Payback Period ◽

Low Energy ◽

Thermal Mass ◽

Core Component ◽

Passive House ◽

Existing Building ◽

Low Energy Buildings ◽

Study Case

Abstract We propose a model that aims to fulfill the following three necessities: the demand for refurbishing the existing built environment, the lack of a reliable means to help architects navigate among the numerous possible solutions for low-energy constructions, and the need for a multi-function tool to analyze buildings as complex systems. We introduce the Optimal Refurbishment Design (ORD) model that is a novel tool to help architects with the refurbishment of an existing building or the design of a new one. The ORD shows four innovative aspects. First, it opens the way to passive building design while focusing on affordable solutions. Second, its core component is based on mathematical optimization. Third, it simultaneously outputs optimal thermal mass and insulation of all the required elements in the building. Fourth, it automatically accounts for the user’s needs and local regulations. Unlike most of the approaches in the Literature, the ORD’s outputs are not limited by any pre-defined set of materials or strategies. We tested the ORD using a realistic study case of refurbishment, and found that the renovated house achieved the energy consumption of a Passive House by lowering its annual heating/cooling consumption by 23% with a payback period of less than 5 years.

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