Socio-political-economic factors hindering the rise of Passivhaus in the UK
Passivhaus may be gaining in popularity, but the UK could struggle to follow Germany’s lead and build large numbers of Passivhaus homes because of its different social, political and financial drivers and general attitudes, says a report published by the NHBC Foundation.
The core focus of Passivhaus is to minimise the requirement for space heating and cooling via high-specification fabric and achieve low overall energy consumption. It is often referred to as a 'comfort standard' as well as an energy standard, and the popularity of Passivhaus in Germany - including a 92% positivity rating by occupants - has been largely due to a combination of social, political and financial circumstances that are specific to that nation.
This report, 'Lessons from Germany's Passivhaus' provides an objective overview of the experience gained to date from Passivhaus in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. It looks at the achievements and the national context that has helped its popularity in Germany, while conversely discusses some of the differences that may hinder volume uptake in the UK:
- Social: According to the report, most UK homes are built speculatively, whereas in Germany an increasing number of homes are self-built, using competitively-priced pre-fabricated low-energy kits. The report also highlights German enthusiasm for high product specification and attention to detail.
- Political: The German population has a stronger interest in the environment than UK residents and people are more inclined to take action. In addition, alongside national energy performance regulations many German cities promote construction to Passivhaus standards through enhanced energy and environmental standards, and offenders failing to comply are fined. Some municipalities, such as the city of Frankfurt, also require all buildings built on land sold by the city to be Passivhaus compliant.
- Financial: The additional cost of building a Passivhaus home in Germany compared to one built to building regulations standards is minimal, at 3 percent to 8 percent. Assistance is also available to finance this additional cost through government loans at discounted interest rates and grants. According to the report, the newness of Passivhaus in the UK and the tendency for it to be used on one-off projects means that robust cost data are generally unavailable. The report also highlights the lack of financial assistance in the UK for the construction of energy efficient new-build homes.
The report also draws attention to the additional cost and effort needed in the UK for Passivhaus homes to achieve compliance with both building regulations and Passivhaus standards. It notes that this is less of a problem in Germany because the Passivhaus planning package (PHPP) software also produces an energy compliance report in line with Germany’s national building regulations (EnEV).
Read the full report on the NHBC website here here.
11th January 2013
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