All wrapped up: Passivhaus winter comfort at the 2025 Open Days

As temperatures dipped and winter settled in across the UK, the Winter Passivhaus Open Days 2025 once again opened doors to some of the country’s most efficient, comfortable and future-proof homes. From timber-frame builds in Scotland to deep retrofits in London and heritage transformations in the North West, this year’s 20+ tours showcased exactly how Passivhaus performance shines when the weather turns cold.

The Old Stables Seaton Beach Open Day 2025

Across the weekend, visitors consistently remarked on the calm, warm, draught-free comfort inside, a striking contrast to the crisp November chill. Many first-timers were surprised by how steady the indoor temperature felt, typically a cosy 20–22°C.

These homes don’t just cut energy use; their robust fabric makes them far more resilient during power cuts, cold snaps or heatwaves. And with UK winters becoming wetter and energy prices volatile, demand for homes that stay comfortable with minimal heating is rising.

Just as the June 2025 tours showcased summer comfort, the winter edition demonstrated how Passivhaus buildings eliminate cold spots, condensation and temperature swings, delivering stable comfort all year round.

Learning from the people behind the projects

From homeowners and architects to students and contractors, attendees engaged deeply with project teams. Visitors shared questions about cost, systems, materials, and the realities of living in a high-performance home.

These direct, on-the-ground conversations remain one of the most valuable aspects of the Open Days: seeing details up close, meeting the people delivering the work, and gaining practical insight.

Malvern Hills Passivhaus Plus. Image credit: Rebecca Shirley Linkedin

The 1:1 wall model was invaluable. Feeling the airtightness board and understanding the materials at full scale really made the details click.”

Rebecca Shirley, Open Days attendee, Linkedin Post

Projects across the isles

Over 20 projects opened their doors this winter, spanning new builds, retrofits, cohousing communities, and pioneering low-carbon biobased construction. Projects included a rural timber-frame build in Northern Ireland, drawing visitors from across the island, a new-build Passivhaus estate in Bradford and the UK's first certified Passivhaus Plus in York.

Retrofit takes centre stage

Passivhaus Retrofit was a major theme this year, showcasing how how the standard can be successfully applied across the UK’s ageing and varied housing stock. Visitors explored construction-stage EnerPHits with live demonstrations of airtightness and insulation upgrades, saw a step-by-step retrofit unfolding in real time, and gained rare insight into how even Grade II listed buildings can be sensitively transformed to deliver high-performance comfort. With upcoming changes in building regulations and growing interest in retrofit of the UK’s ageing housing stock, the ability to deliver a standard like Passivhaus is increasingly relevant.

It was one of the best Passivhaus open days I’ve attended… a superb example of how to carry out a deep retrofit while meeting the EnerPHit standard.”

Visitor feedback, Old Stables

Thanks to all participants

A heartfelt thank you to every homeowner, architect, contractor, and volunteer who opened their doors and generously shared knowledge, lessons learned, challenges, and successes. Your enthusiasm empowers others to build better, retrofit smarter and embrace homes that deliver comfort, health and resilience, no matter the weather.

Can you open your doors?

Passivhaus site visits remain one of the most powerful tools for accelerating understanding and adoption of high-performance building. If you’re working on a certified or in-progress Passivhaus or Passivhaus Retrofit project, we’d love for you to get involved in future editions. Stay tuned for details on the Summer 2026 Passivhaus Open Days, running June 2026.