Minister committed to continuing Passivhaus journey

Patrick Harvie MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights, was a keynote speaker at the UK Passivhaus Conference in Edinburgh and shared his vision for energy efficient and low carbon buildings in Scotland.

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’. Mr Harvie gave an update on how the policy is developing. A cross-industry working group is currently working through the policy details, with a thorough consultation on the proposals due to begin in 2024. 

 

 I am very pleased that Scotland is hosting this year’s conference, reflecting the leadership shown through our intent to introduce a Scottish equivalent of the Passivhaus standard.
Improving the energy performance of our new homes and buildings is essential to cut overall energy use and help end our reliance on fossil fuels, which exposes everyone to volatile prices.
The Passivhaus standard encourages the design and construction of low energy buildings, which complements commitments already made in the Bute House Agreement. This is about delivering high quality, low energy and healthy buildings for people to live in that are built to the standards to which they are designed.

Patrick Harvie MSP, Scottish Government Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights

 

Scotland is leading the way in the UK – and the world - with its commitment to delivering comfortable, affordable and low carbon housing. Building on the Scottish Government’s leadership, our conference has explored the practical and policy aspects of scaling up a Passivhaus equivalent standard in Scotland, with discussions on standards, tools, certification, and expanding Passivhaus training and the supply chain.

Sarah Lewis, Research & Policy Director, Passivhaus Trust

The conference showcased Passivhaus projects across Scotland, from Fife Council’s super-sized 23,000m² Dunfermline Learning Campus to Midlothian Council’s ambitious social housing programme delivering 200+ Passivhaus council homes. The conference also featured Scotland’s first Passivhaus school Riverside Primary School for Perth & Kinross Council and the City of Edinburgh Council’s Passivhaus schools programme. It is estimated that there are 35 Passivhaus schools currently underway or in the pipeline in Scotland. 

An innovative funding mechanism from the Scottish Futures Trust has encouraged the building of schools to the Passivhaus standard in Scotland. Projects receiving funding need to meet a very clear energy target and 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.

 Sarah Lewis, Research & Policy Director, Passivhaus Trust

More Scottish Passivhaus projects are showcased at: https://ukphc.org.uk/scottish-showcase

The Passivhaus Trust is actively engaging with the Scottish construction industry to help it scale up to deliver the Scottish Government's ambition for a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard.

Free resources, training, and guidance are available at www.passivhaustrust.org.uk

Further information

Scottish equivalent to Passivhaus: FAQs

Passivhaus Social Housing

Previous PHT story: Scotland gies it Passivhaus laidy! 23 June 2023

Previous PHT story: Super-sized Scottish campus targets Passivhaus  22 November 2022

Previous PHT story: Riverside Primary - a Passivhaus first for Scotland 25 June 2023

Previous PHT story: Dalmarnock does it right! 11 April 2023

18th October 2023

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