PASSIVE DESIGN

Passive Design regards the particular way to construct a building using the natural

movement of heat and air, passive solar gain and cooling in order to maintain a good

internal comfort. Through the use of passive solutions it is possible to eliminate, or at least

reduce, the use of mechanical systems and the energy demand by 80% as well as the

CO2 emissions.

Building a passive house takes careful planning, which includes the introduction of five

basic principles:

- orientation

The first basic principle in a passive house is the orientation, in which the southern façade

of the building should be oriented towards the equator in the northern hemisphere (and the

northern façade towards the north in the southern hemisphere.

By facing the longer axis of the building in the east/west direction, the longer dimension of

the home faces will be more likely to gain the maximum solar radiation. For that reason,

areas which are most frequently used, such as the kitchen and the living room, must be

located into this part of the building.

This orientation is also advantageous for summer cooling conditions because it minimizes

the east-west façades to morning and afternoon sunlight.

- overhangs and shadings

Overhangs and shadings are important devices in a passive house because they help in

reducing overheating during the summer season. Therefore, it is very important that the

devices are properly sized. The southern façade through which the sun mostly comes

inside must be correctly shaded, or equipped by sized overhangs, in order to prevent

overheating and to keep the house cool during summer months. However, a careful design

of the device must be made in order to guarantee that the size and sloped (if necessary)
can meet the need to let the sun in during the winter and to shade the building during the

summer. The type of shade and its degree is always linked with the position of the sun and

the geometry of the building. For instance, simple overhangs are very efficient for shading

the building in the south façade during the summer when the sun is high in the sky.

However, this type of shading device is not efficient for the south-west façade at blocking

the sun entering inside during morning and afternoon hours, when the sun is low in the

sky. It is very important to understand that in summer the peak sun angles comes in June

on the 21st during the solstice, but peak temperature and humidity come mostly in August.

Therefore, include a fully shade south façade during the summer will also shade the

window in autumn and spring, when actually the passive solar heat is needed for heat up

the building and keep the house with a comfort temperature.

Having say that, for designing a proper shading device it is necessary to understand how

the sun moves along the year and which effect its angles have on the building. The altitude

and azimuth angles represent the position of the sun in the sky.

Because shading devices can have a huge impact on the building appearance as well as

reducing the cooling demand, they must be considered and evaluated at the early stage of

the design process, in order to be effective for both technical and visual aspect for being

well-integrated in the whole architecture.

There are several type of shading devices, but it is very difficult to make a generalization of

their design. However, some general recommendations have been listed just below:

– to control direct solar radiation in the south façade use fixed overhangs

– limit the number of east and west windows because they are very difficult to shade

compared to the south side. Maybe some consideration of the surrounded

landscape, such as type of tree that might be used to shade

– north façade can be out of shading as it receives very little direct solar radiation
– interior shading devices, such as Venetian blinds or vertical louvres, might be used

in order to control glare, however exterior shadings must be included since the

interior ones have already admitted the solar gain in

- insulation

A well insulated building helps in reducing heat loss during the winter and keeping the

house cool during the summer. Insulated materials, so called because they are poor

conductors of heat, form a barrier between interior and exterior spaces, by means between

warmed interior and cool exterior, and cool interior and hot exterior according to the

season.

Since insulation is important in warm climate as well as in cold climate, less energy is

required to heat houses in cold conditions or cool houses in warm condition which results

in a good interior temperature along the whole year.

Regarding insulation, the heat loss through the construction (walls, floor, basement, ceiling

or the roof) is represented by the thermal heat loss coefficient or U-value, which

represents how much heat in Watts is lost per m2 at a standard temperature difference.

Insulation materials are normally used in walls, floors and roof because they work by

resisting heat flow, which is measured by an R-value (the higher the R-value, the greater

the insulation).

The R-value changes according to the material type, its density and thickness and it is

affected by thermal bridging. Thermal bridging represents the unwanted heat flow that

comes inside the building through joints, studs and rafters. Therefore, in order to achieve

the best insulation thermal bridges must be avoided.

Therefore, the building envelope must be greatly insulated, especially to what concern

external structural walls, because by doing so:

− thermal bridges are eliminated because there are no longer interruptions caused by
floor slabs

− heat gained from the sun is dissipated in the cavity and ventilated throughout

openings

− temperature swings are drastically reduced

- double or triple glazing

Glazed surfaces play an important role in a passive house because they serve as solar

collectors bringing in light and heat while also providing natural ventilation.

The way how windows are positioned, in relation to the landscape, the wind and the

movement of the sun can effectively increase the energy efficient and provide a good

internal comfort.

The basic role regarding windows in a passive house is the southern position because it

allows them to collect warm solar energy when heat is needed, or vice versa to let fresh air

in when is needed.

Locating the majority of glazed surfaces on the southern façade helps in achieving the

maximum solar gain and reduce the ones in the northern façade helps for the insulation of

the building against winter cold.

Also the type of glazing is a key feature considering insulation issues. For that reason, the

Passive House standards recommend to use double (or triple if needed, according to the

location) glazing which helps in reducing heat losses through the windows. (12)The

glazing must have a low emissivity glass(low-e), which includes a metal oxide coating, in

one of the internal panes, next to the gap. Through that, the glazing can let in the sunlight

and heat, while at the same moment blocks the heat from leaving the interior space,

otherwise there would be heat loss.

− Double glazing: has two layers of glass with a gap between them of around 16 mm

(argon gas filling).

glazings, and low-conductance edge spaces. It has a very low heat loss rate (low Ufactor).It will
give greater sound insulation and energy saving

- thermal mass

The concept of thermal mass regards a solid or liquid material which absorbs and store

warmth and releases it when is needed. By means that, the excess solar heat gain can be

stored and used when the sun is not shining or where there is no sun at all, as during the

night. It actually works as a battery because during the summer season it absorbs heat

keeping the house comfortable, while in winter it stores the heat gained and gives it back

at night keeping the house warm. Basically in a passive house a thermal mass can work in

two ways: by direct solar gain or by indirect solar gain.

A thermal mass could moderate the temperature of internal spaces, reducing the need for

mechanical cooling and winter heating requirements and the most cost effective method

normally is to take advantage of thermal mass in the building structure.

In order to let the thermal mass work correctly, it must be integrated with other passive

technique, such as insulation and passive solar gain, in order to moderate the internal

temperature and minimize the need for mechanical cooling as well as reducing winter

heating requirements.

Thermal mass can be a brick, tile or thick concrete floors (called Solar Slab). It can also be

a large brick or stone internal fireplace or an interior wall made of adobe or brick. A

masonry or concrete wall (called a Trombe Wall) or water filled containers (called a Tube

Wall) can also be used to absorb heat and cool. This type of system must have southern

exposure and receive direct sunlight for working properly.

The main properties of a thermal mass are its high density (the more dense the material

the higher its thermal mass), good thermal conductivity (it must allow heat to flow through

it) and low reflectivity (dark or textured surfaces absorb and release more energy than light
or reflective surfaces)