What is Passivhaus and What are its Key Features?

What is Passivhaus?

Have you heard of a passive house?

If not, you’re not alone! Put simply, homes built to a ‘passive house’ standard aim to maintain a comfortable living environment using a minimum amount of energy

Since its inception in Germany in the 1990s, the ‘Passivhaus’ movement has been becoming more widespread in the UK, leading to thousands of high-performance buildings being constructed.

The Passivhaus standard incorporates several key elements to provide low energy bills, constant fresh air and solar shading, creating comfortable and quiet interiors.

As well as using passive solar gain, passivhaus buildings use heat from internal sources such as from lighting, major appliances and other electrical devices and body heat from those living within the building including pets.

Once combined with energy conservation measures taken such as super insulation, conventional central heating isn’t necessary.

Houses built to a Passivaus standard claim to have over 50 benefits compared to other homes, including being highly prized on the market, a claim backed by Santander research from 2022 revealing house buyers are willing to pay almost 10 per cent more for greener properties.

The Benefits of Passivhaus Blinds and Buildings

Lower energy bills and reduced carbon emissions

One of the main benefits is energy efficiency.

Buildings account for a whopping 35 per cent of total global energy consumption yet Passivhaus claims to slash building heating demand by 90 per cent without compromising our health and wellbeing.

A 2017 report called "Energy Saving Potential of Passive Houses in the UK" by the UCD Energy Research Group, University College Dublin found that an average new house built to ‘passive house’ standard in the UK would use 77 per cent less energy for space heating, compared to a house built under 2006 building regulations.

The standard not only leads to lower energy bills for households and businesses but helps to reduce our carbon footprint at a time when Government expects us to journey towards net zero emissions by 2050.

Warmer homes and better living conditions

Passivhaus standards see houses being super insulated to banish cold homes and create a quieter building so that residents are protected from any invasive outside noise.

It also provides good levels of ventilation to prevent three big problems that plague much of the UK’s older housing stock - humidity, condensation and mould.

Cooler homes from external blinds in summer

A key area of the Passivhaus standard is making sure our homes stay cool in our warming climate and keep at risk rooms cool by stopping the sun getting in at peak times instead of using energy-gobbling air conditioning.

This means building the home to the correct orientation and using external shading like overhangs and external blinds. The latter is a very popular choice for Passivhaus homes fitted on windows and doors to prevent solar glare.

The great advantage of our external blinds is the fabric used is an open weave, meaning the light can still come in even when the blinds are down and you can enjoy the world outside.

Our external blinds are compliant with Part O overheating regulations, look extremely stylish and will protect your soft furnishings from sun damage.

Sounds brilliant, but do you need to be wealthy to build a passive house?

Not at all. They aren’t just the reserve of the beautiful Grand Design-style / passivhaus design for homes we see on TV and the glossy pages of magazines.

It’s not difficult to build to Passivhaus quality and it can be tailored to suit all budgets and types of buildings ranging from houses, blocks of flats, health and community centres, offices and schools.

For more information about the Passivhaus standard, visit The Passivhaus Trust (PHT), an independent industry leading organisation that promotes its adoption in the UK.

We have more than 40 years of experience in the external and commercial blinds industry and provide expert installation of external blinds for Passivhaus and eco homes, where quality fixtures are paramount to ensure correct performance. Contact us today for more information.