Scottish equivalent to Passivhaus: FAQs
The Passivhaus Trust is actively engaging with the Scottish construction industry to help define the Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard. Read our FAQs (frequently asked questions) as to how we can achieve the standard needed.
This campaign is sponsored by Passivhaus Trust members including:
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If you would like to become a campaign sponsor, please email info@passivhaustrust.org.uk
What is proposed?
In January 2023 the Scottish Government announced plans to introduce new minimum environmental design standards for all newbuild housing to meet a ‘Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard’. Alex Rowley MSP, whose Private member’s Proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill forms the basis of this legislation, commented in response “It simply seems obvious to me that we should be doing this. This will help future-proof housing stock, save people money and tackle our climate emergency.’
The Passivhaus Trust has been speaking with Scottish officials, building regulations team and others within the industry to help develop the proposed standard. and has put forward its key recommendations for how the policy could be implemented in Scotland
The proposal was recently out for consultation and is due to be adopted as legislation in December 2024. The Passivhaus Trust has issued a detailed response to the consultation.
Passivhaus precedents
The 2023 Passivhaus Conference had a Scottish showcase of Passivhaus developments highlighting the variety of scales, and appetitie for delivering better buildings in Scotland already underway.
Schools & educational buildings
School buildings have been in the Passivhaus vanguard in Scotland, thanks to an innovative funding mechanism from the Scottish Futures Trust. Projects receiving funding need to meet a very clear energy target of 67 kWh/m2.yr, a comparable target with a typical new build Passivhaus school. Funding may be reduced based on any performance gap post-completion. The Passivhaus standard effectively eliminates the performance gap, de-risking the securing of funding. It has been impressive how swiftly the industry, supply chain and clients have adjusted to delivering to the Passivhaus standard in the education sector.
It is currently estimated that 35 Passivhaus schools are either underway or in the pipeline in Scotland.
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Social housing
Social housing providers, local authorities, and selfbuilders have been undertaking Passivhaus projects for several years in Scotland. In the last couple of years there has been a dramatic increase in their scale, with sites of 100, 200 or even 400+ homes.
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Selfbuild projects
Small bespoke homes continue to act as an important testbed for innovation & higher standards. Several scottish homes have won the UK Passivhaus Awards over the years. Please see our UK Passivhaus Projects map for more Scottish Passivhaus projects.
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Common concerns
Is it more expensive?
The Passivhaus Trust undertook research in 2018 outlining typical Passivhaus uplift costs of between 4-8%, and also shares best practice guidance on delivering cost-effective Passivhaus. Simple early-stage design and a focus on good form factor and orientation are all effective ways to keep costs down.
The cost to the nation of fuel poverty and poorer performing homes, including the cost to the NHS, as well as cost of needing to upgrade the energy grid, needs to be factored into cost calculations. A 2023 BRE report on the cost of poor housing to the NHS estimated that it costs the NHS £540m a year in England to treat people affected by poor housing. A 2018 Scottish Government report on fuel poverty stated: "In 2014 it was estimated that fuel poverty cost the NHS up to £80m per annum in Scotland due to the health impacts of cold, damp housing. Savings beyond those directly related to the NHS are also relevant, particularly to the public health service, such as those arising from improved mental wellbeing, increased mobility within the home, healthier lifestyles such as improved nutrition or physical activity, and greater social connection".
Discover more on the business case for Passivhaus in our cost benefits guides, and handy tips in our Passivhaus Social Housing guide.
Upskilling an industry
Scotland already has an outstanding training resource in existence at BE-ST (Built Environment – Smarter Transformation). BE-ST offers Scotland’s first national Passivhaus, retrofit and fabric first training programme and is on a mission to accelerate the built environment’s transition to zero carbon emissions. The Passivhaus Trust has a strategic partnership with BE-ST to support the delivery of its Passivhaus training.
BE-ST offers a range of training courses including its Low Carbon Learning programme, which provides Passivhaus, retrofit and fabric first training funded by Scottish Funding Council and Skills Development Scotland through the Transition Training Fund. The programme has supported 2500+ individuals through Passivhaus and retrofit training.
The Trust believes regional training centres such as these, upskilling local industry & sharing best practice, are imperative to accelerate the built environment's transition to zero carbon emissions.
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Caitriona Jordan, Head of Retrofit at BE-ST, commented in response to the announcement of a Scottish equivalent to Passivhaus: “Although it presents a huge challenge for the sector, there is no shortage of ingenuity and capability in Scotland to be able to do this and the sector has proven it can rise to this scale of challenge. We can do this! It is possible to close the skills gap, train the workforce in Passivhaus and meet the needs for implementation of the new building regulations at scale.”
Approximately 30% of staff at Morrison Construction - Central have gone through the Passivhaus Tradeperson training. The company is also working proactively with its supply chain and has set up a test rig at BE-ST’s innovation centre as well as a group called Net Zero Partners to share quality processes needed on-site and encourage the supply chain to undertake the Passivhaus tradesperson course.
A vast wealth of Passivhaus training opportunities exist for Scottish building professionals. Discover more about Passivhaus training & education, find an upcoming Passivhaus certified course in our event listings, or browse some online on-demand options. Are you currently studying? Head over to our student engagement page. Thoses studying architecture should have access to the Design Performance for Climate Action course.
Passivhaus support
Climate Assembly
The Proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill forms was initially developed by Alex Rowley in response to the Scottish Climate Assembly’s 2021 Recommendations for Action, in which 97% of the Assembly voted in favour of the Passivhaus or Scottish equivalent standard for new build projects in Scotland.
Consultation
A consultation on the proposed Bill was undertaken during 2022 and the findings were summarised. In total, 629 responses to the Bill were received. The majority of all responses (over 90%) were supportive of the proposal. Of the 78 organisations that responded, 82% were supportive of the proposal and 17% were opposed.
Local authorities & housing associations
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City of Edinburgh Council has commenced the delivery of non-housing related projects to certified Passivhaus standards. The experience to date has been very positive with greater rigour being evidenced in the design process. Passivhaus not only addresses low energy solutions but equally critically ensures internal comfort conditions are delivered. In addition there is evidence that the standard has associated construction quality advantages. In light of this experience, to a large extent driven by the exacting technical standards and certification process, consideration should be given to the adoption of the standard across new build housing.
Patrick Brown, Head of Sustainable Construction Delivery, City of Edinburgh Council
Building professionals
Scotland is leading the world in its move towards a Scottish Passivhaus equivalent policy. For schools, housing and social housing in particular, Passivhaus has a long track record of proven, significant societal and environmental benefits as well as reduced running costs and demands on national energy infrastructure.
Dr Joel Callow, Founding Director, Beyond Carbon Associates
A carefully considered Passivhaus design that is truly built around the needs of the end user will offer benefits that last throughout the building’s lifetime; exceptional levels of long-term affordability, interior comfort, health, wellbeing and durability. Quality control during the construction process also ensures that Passivhaus buildings are built to very high standards.
Ryan Miller, Director, Holmes Miller
Our practice has been researching and developing ways to eliminate fuel poverty in social housing for over 30 years. The results we have observed and measured in the homes we have built to Passivhaus standard surpass any other measures which we have used to achieve the goal of reliably low bills.
Matt Bridgestock, Director, John Gilbert Architects
Over the last 12 years of delivering Passivhaus around the UK, I’ve have seen the tangible benefits it brings, by focussing everyone – client, design team and contractor – on the goal of ensuring the energy and comfort performance gap that otherwise exists in most new buildings is eliminated.
Jonathan Hines, Director, Architype
Since I was introduced to the Passivhaus concept, I was excited about it and still am. I see it as best practice from design to finish, that offers a vast amount of experience and best practice skills from tens of thousands of projects across Europe.
Stefan Huber, Managing Director, PAUL Heat Recovery Scotland
Scaling up
The Scottish construction industry is rising to the challenge of the Passivhaus standard and many projects are already completed or underway demonstrating Scotland’s ability to embrace the standard. In doing so, Scotland is joining other nations and regions around the world in the Passivhaus vanguard. For inspiration, Scotland can follow Vancouver’s example, where Passivhaus policies have meant construction is the only category on track to meet the city’s 2030 climate goals.
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Jonathan Hines Director, Architype |
Stewart Macleod Managing Director – Property, AtkinsRéalis |
Dr Joel Callow
Founding Director, Beyond Carbon Associates |
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"I have been amazed by the can-do attitude of the industry in Scotland in response to the opportunity that Passivhaus offers. All the key players are embracing a paradigm culture shift in approach to design and construction. The result will be a new generation of ultra low energy buildings without a performance gap, placing Scotland well and truly at the forefront of sustainable delivery in the UK." |
“I think the Scottish Government’s adoption of the Passivhaus equivalent is brilliant. It is forward-looking and will be a key part of Scotland tackling the built environment’s climate challenge. It is also going to reduce the energy consumption costs for the new households, helping with the cost of living crisis. I think it’s something we can be immensely proud of in Scotland."
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"It is an exciting time to be designing and constructing buildings in Scotland, and we are anticipating a strong positive impact this leadership will have on the wider construction industry as we seek to tackle the climate crisis together.”
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Clare Booth Director, Coldwells Build |
Lizzy Westmacott Associate Director / Regional Head of Sustainability. ECD Architects |
Ryan Miller Director, Holmes Miller |
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"Scotland is poised to become a global leader in sustainable construction, accelerating the next generation of ultra energy-efficient buildings that will redefine how we fight climate — and how we live. Let's get more builders and architects into Passivhaus training programmes and make Scotland a leading player with exportable skills and knowledge." |
"This is such an exciting opportunity for Scotland to build the homes we deserve, that actually perform as intended. The industry’s shown that we can do this, the climate crisis shows we need to, so let’s do it!" |
"Ultimately, what it takes to make Passivhaus a reality is commitment and collaboration from all stakeholders, and we are confident the Scottish construction industry is ready to rise to that challenge.” |
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Matt Bridgestock Director, John Gilbert Architects |
Stefan Huber Managing Director, PAUL Heat Recovery Scotland |
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"We have worked with enlightened teams to explore how we can build Passivhaus homes robustly, efficiently & beautifully. Working with both social housing and private development budgets, we see Scottish supply chains and subcontractors are rapidly up-skilling, clients are looking for the assurance of quality and contractors across Scotland have developed processes to enable them to deliver." |
"From an architectural point of view, tremendous progress has been made over the last decades to upskill to Passivhaus standards. Also, a growing number of tradespeople have embraced the opportunity to upskill. There is obviously still an urgent skills gap within the construction sector for training in all aspects of renewable technology and ventilation, alongside the understanding and skills to work to better standards, such as Passivhaus. As a company we will do all we can to help this transition." |
We look forward to working with the Scottish Government and construction industry to help accelerate change, overcome any obstacles there might be, and deliver the homes Scottish people deserve.
Further information
Proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill
The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024
Passivhaus for Scotland showcase
Zero Ambitions Podcast: Passive house doesn't have to cost more to build - with Dr Shane Colcough (UCD, Ulster University)
Scottish Housing News Podcast: Taking the Politics out of Passivhaus
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Previous PHT story: Scottish Schools lead largescale Passivhaus – 8 April 2022
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