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10 international passive house conference 2006

Passive Houses Worlswide:

International Developments

Henk Kaan, ECN Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 1,
1755 ZG Petten, The Netherlands,

Isolda Strom, DHV Building and Industry, P.O. Box 80007,

5600 JZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Chiel Boonstra, DHV Building and Industry, P.O. Box 80007,

5600 JZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands

1 Introduction
Before the millennium, the development and building of Passive Houses have mainly been
limited to the German speaking countries. However, as the 10th International Passive
House Conference proves, more and more interest is raising in other European countries,
in the US, in Canada, Korea and other countries. In recent years quite a lot of Passive
Houses have been built in amongst others Belgium and Scandinavia. In many other coun-
tries the first Passive Houses have been erected and/or are being developed.

Within the IEE (Intelligent Energy for Europe) Programme, the European Commission is
supporting the project named Promotion of European Passive Houses (PEP). The goal of
this project is to disseminate the positive experience with the Passive House concept that
is gained internationally. Participating countries in the project are: Ireland, UK, Norway,
Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Austria. Furthermore, observ-
ers from Poland, France and the Czech Republic are frequently participating in the project
meetings and events. The PEP - project is coordinated by ECN (the Netherlands).

In parallel, an EC supported project called Passive-On focuses on passive cooling in

Mediterranean climates. This project is coordinated by the Politecnico di Milano.

Although a few Passive Houses have been built outside Europe, Passive Houses are still
mainly a European development. Therefore this paper discusses the state of the art in
Passive House development in the above-mentioned European countries only. The pre-
liminary results of the PEP project form an important input (soon downloadable from:
www.europeanpassivehouses.org) The paper deals with the following questions:

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What is a Passive House?

Following the definition developed by the Passivhaus Institut, a Passive House has a
heat demand of 15 kWh/m2 floor area per year, whilst the total primary energy use in
the house is restricted to 120 kWh/m2 per year. However, this definition was developed
taking the German and Austrian climatic conditions as a point of departure. Is this defi-
nition achievable for Nordic climates like Scandinavia? Is it too easy to reach for milder
climates than Central European?
Do Passive Houses make sense?
In several European countries the energy performance standards in residential build-
ings are quite good. Do Passive Houses substantially contribute to energy
conservation in the residential building sector? What is their energy saving potential?
Can German and Austrian concepts be copied in other countries? Which barriers in
realisation of Passive Houses can be identified and how can they be solved?
Within the European Union, Germany and Austria are ahead with respect to Passive
House building. In these countries thousands of Passive Houses and other passive
buildings have been built and more than 50 small and medium sized enterprises devel-
oped building products (e.g. insulation, passive solar components, window frames,
special glazing, highly efficient heat recovery systems, compact heating units and oth-
ers) which are suitable to be applied in Passive Houses. The question may rise: why
do other countries not follow the German/Austrian concepts, when such convincing ex-
amples of very efficient and comfortable houses can be seen in so many places in
Germany and Austria? What are the barriers to overcome to adapt these concepts in
other countries?

2 What is a Passive House?

The basic idea of a Passive House is to minimise the heat demand for space heating so
that the necessary heat can be supplied by additional heat to the ventilation air. Taking into
account the outdoor temperature and as a consequence the temperature of the incoming
ventilation air, the heat capacity of the air, and the maximum temperature to which the air
can be heated to be comfortable, the maximum heat requirement was calculated to
2
15 kWh/m per year. Experiences in Germany and Austria have convincingly shown that
this can be reached in Central European climates. However, in Nordic climates this might
be quite difficult, if not impossible. Northern Scandinavia copes with winter temperatures of
minus 35 C and lower. The Finnish and Norwegian partners in the PEP-project have
expressed concern that the criterion of 15 kWh/(ma) is an unrealistic one for their
countries. Better components than are currently used in Central Europe would have to be
made available. Due to different usage patterns in Northern Scandinavia, a more flexible
definition of Passive Houses may also be appropriate. In any case, the result will not be
worse than the Passive Houses in more moderate climates: the houses built according to

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such standard are in accordance with Passive House construction principles and very
energy efficient. After long discussions with the project partners, it was decided in the PEP-
project to define Passive Houses as follows below, in a popular version (a) and in a more
scientific version (b). Furthermore subject to discussion is the question, if only the
ventilation air should supply the heat for space heating. The background of this criterion is
that by doing so, a separate heating system can be avoided, thus saving costs that can be
used for adding insulation, improving air tightness, etc. However, in some countries, for
instance in the Netherlands, houses have a (low temperature) water based space heating
system which is combined with the domestic hot water supply, and which can be coupled to
a solar collector. These systems are relatively cheap and supplying heat through
ventilation air only will not have a significant cost reduction effect. The results of the
discussion of this item in the PEP-project is also reflected in the definition of Passive
Houses:

(a):"The term Passive House refers to a specific building standard for residential buildings
with good comfort conditions during winter and summer, without traditional heating systems
and without active cooling. Typically this includes very good insulation levels, very good air
tightness of the building, whilst a good indoor air quality is guaranteed by a mechanical
ventilation system with highly efficient heat recovery".

(b):"The term Passive House refers to a specific building standard for residential buildings
with good comfort conditions during winter and summer, without traditional heating systems
and without active cooling. Typically this includes very good insulation levels, very good air
tightness of the building, whilst a good indoor air quality is guaranteed by a mechanical
ventilation system with highly efficient heat recovery. Thereby the design heat load is lim-
ited to the load that can be transported by the minimum required ventilation air. However
space heating does not have to be carried through the ventilation system. For 40 - 60
Northern latitudes, under conditions specified in the PHPP calculation model:

the total energy demand for space heating and cooling is limited to 15 kWh per m
treated floor area and year;
the total primary energy use for all appliances, domestic hot water and space heating
and cooling is limited to 120 kWh per m treated floor area and year.

A Passive House has a high level of insulation with minimal thermal bridges, low infiltration
and utilizes passive solar gains and heat recovery to accomplish these characteristics.
Consequently renewable energy sources can be used to meet the resulting energy de-
mand.

For 60 and higher latitudes, it is necessary to adjust the figures in order to be able to
achieve an ambitious yet realistic solution. This can be done on a national basis. However,
the specific heat loss for transmission, infiltration and ventilation (according to
EN ISO 13 789) normalized for treated floor area should not exceed 0.5 kWh/(ma)."

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For southern climates, where passive cooling is more dominant, a second addition to the
definition should be made. However, in the PEP project this addition has not been dis-
cussed yet.

Although it is not impossible to renovate houses according to the above Passive House
standard, it might be a difficult task. For the construction of existing buildings or their situa-
tion in the urban context do not always offer the required preconditions for a full "Passive
House" renovation. However, by taking the Passive House concept as a point of departure,
and by using appropriate products and techniques, the result may be close to the Passive
House standard. In order to avoid confusions between the "real" Passive House standard
and energy efficient renovation using products, techniques and concepts that are appropri-
ate for Passive Houses but do not result into fulfilment of the Passive House criterion of
2
15 kWh/(m a), a new criterion must be defined for existing buildings to label a renovation
based on Passive House components, resulting in an energy demand for heating of around
25 kWh/(m2a).

3 Do Passive Houses make sense?

Compared to the current standard of energy performance in the various European coun-
tries, Passive Houses perform quite well. As generally known, national energy policies and
EU energy policy is focused on energy conservation in order to reduce CO2 emissions at
least according to the Kyoto targets. Should it make sense, if all the new residential build-
ings should be built to Passive House standards? This question was discussed in the PEP
project. The report can be downloaded from the website. The summarised discussion and
the conclusion are given below.

In order to determine the potential CO2 reduction, the savings on primary energy from fossil
fuels must be known. Taking into account the various conversion factors from secondary
energy to primary energy, the calculated yearly primary energy uses for a Passive House,
in relation to an existing dwelling and a typical new to build dwelling according to building
standards are given below for space heating (figure 1) and total household energy
(figure 2):

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Yearly primary energy use for space heating per treated floor area

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Primary energy use in kWh/m2

300

existing average
200 typical new
Passive house

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Figure 1: Yearly primary space heating energy use per dwelling, per existing,
typical new and Passive House

Yearly primary household energy use per treated floor area

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Primary energy use in kWh/m2

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existing average
200 typical new
Passive house

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Figure 2: Total yearly household primary energy use per dwelling, per existing,
new and Passive House

The energy savings of a Passive House renovation compared to an average existing

dwelling, and the energy savings of a Passive House compared to business as usual is
given in figure 3.

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CO2 reduction per PH per country

8.000
kg CO2 reduction per Passive House

7.000

6.000

5.000 retrofit PH
new PH
4.000

3.000

2.000

1.000

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Figure 3: CO2 reductions per Passive House compared to business as usual

(new PH) and to existing dwellings (refurbishment PH)

The graph shows diversity between the participating countries. A part of the differences in
CO2 reduction per Passive House between the countries can be attributed to different lev-
els of energy use, different types of applied energy sources and different conversion
factors for each country. Overall, it can be noted that electricity has the highest factor,
while district heating and gas, for example, have much lower conversion factors. This
means that savings in electricity use will result in much greater avoided emissions than
savings in district heating. As this example illustrates, the energy sources used in a
Passive House (which differs per country) can have a large impact on the resulting
emissions.

The above figure shows for Austria a fairly high CO2 reduction. This is due to the fact that
the reference use is fairly high. The current energy use of the typical new dwelling and the
average existing household is relatively high in Belgium, resulting in a high energy saving
potential for the Passive House. Denmark shows an average CO2 reduction per dwelling.
Savings are mostly in electricity and district heating use.

The CO2 reduction for Finland is relatively low, due to relatively high energy uses for the
Passive House (40 kWh/(ma), due to climate). Moreover, most reduction is achieved in
district heating and electricity, both with relatively low CO2 emissions in Finland (low CO2
conversion factor). The CO2 reduction per dwelling for Germany is fairly high, for a large
part due to electricity savings and reduction in space heating.

The CO2 reduction per dwelling for Ireland is high. Most reduction is due to gas, electricity
and heating oil savings. For the Netherlands the CO2 reduction per dwelling is average
compared to other countries. Savings are mainly in gas use for space heating. Norway has

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low CO2 emissions for electricity. Nevertheless, due to high reductions in electric energy
use for space heating, the CO2 reduction is relatively high. The CO2 reduction per dwelling
for the United Kingdom is high. Savings are both in electricity and gas use.

To be able to relate the energy saving potential of Passive Houses with the Kyoto targets,
it is necessary to bear in mind the Kyoto objective describes a reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions by at least 5 % below 1990 levels during the period 2008 to 2012. As Passive
Houses are on the brink of large market penetration, the contribution of Passive House to
the Kyoto agreement in this period will be small. However, through the Passive House con-
cept a considerable energy saving compared to the business as usual can be obtained.
This energy saving potential implies high CO2 reductions of 50-65 % for each Passive
House. Considering the early stage at which Passive House development currently is in
most countries, it forms a promising method to contribute to emission reduction in the fu-
ture, if successfully implemented in national markets. At the time that this paper was writ-
ten, the energy saving potential calculations which are to be made in the PEP-project have
not been finalized yet.

4 Can German and Austrian concepts be copied in other

countries? Which barriers in realization of Passive
Houses can be identified?
Though the physical principles of Passive Houses are valid in general, the elaboration for
the respective countries is quite different. In the first place, the building tradition differs
from country to country. In Germany, for instance, outer wall plastering is quite common,
whilst in Belgium and in the Netherlands brick cavity walls are mostly applied, and Sweden
and Finland have broad experience with wooden buildings. These three various
construction methods ask for different constructional solutions. E.g. details of a Passive
House will even be different in Belgium compared to the Netherlands since constructors
are familiar with local construction materials and detailed solutions. And even when this
has technically been solved (which is the case in fact in this example), the solutions found
in one country must be adapted to the specific building codes and standards of the other
countries. In theory a construction method could be transferred from one country to the
other, the practice will show however that this is not that simple. Figure 4 for instance
shows the thermal insulation applied in national common practice versus Passive House
construction. It is clear, that in most of the countries the building practice must change, if
the Passive House standard has to be met.

The brick cavity wall building tradition poses challenges in several countries. To meet
these challenges attention must be paid to good detailing, availability of appropriately
dimensioned items (such as wall ties), and improvement of site practices will be necessary.
If the market conditions allow, alternative wall-types could be developed.

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Uvalue construction components

0,5

0,4
U-value (W/m2K)

0,3

0,2

passive house range

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Figure 4: Average U-values of construction components (wall, roof, floor) in European

countries

The other barrier that is encountered in several countries is the lack of good window com-
ponents. However, in other countries (such as Austria) these components are readily avail-
able. By temporarily importing these components, this barrier can be overcome. As de-
mand increases it is expected that local availability will improve.

In the PEP project, an inventory was made of barriers and possible solutions.

Most frequently encountered barriers in partner countries are: limited know-how; limited
contractor skills; and limited acceptation of Passive Houses in the market. To overcome
these barriers, a great deal of attention must be paid to providing practical information and
solutions to building professionals, providing practical information and training to installers
and contractors and communication about the Passive House concept to the market. The
PEP-project is intended to provide this information and knowledge by means of making in-
formation packages focused on the specific needs of the country concerned, by means of
doing suggestions for certification and accreditation of products, processes and people,
and by means of workshops, articles, websites and other forms of targeted dissemination.
The Passive House concept has a large potential and stands on the brink of market pene-
tration in many countries. It is a challenge to clear the mentioned barriers internationally in
the coming years to reach the status for Passive Houses As Business As Usual.

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