Passivhaus Powerhouses

As Passivhaus continues to grow both in the UK and the rest of Europe, the Passivhaus Institute has introduced new classes for the Standard. In addition to the established ‘Passivhaus Classic’, there are ‘Passivhaus Plus’ and ‘Passivhaus Premium’ which include the use of renewable energy generation in the certification assessment.

Passivhaus Plus & Premium

PLUS: A building certified to Passivhaus Plus not only drastically reduces energy use, but it also produces as much energy as occupants consume, turning them into Passivhaus Powerhouses. The energy generated must come from renewable sources and provide enough energy to operate the building throughout the whole year.

PREMIUM: Far more energy is produced than required to operate the building. Passivhaus Premium is therefore a challenging goal for the particularly ambitious: building owners and designers who want to go beyond what economic and ecological considerations already propose.

UK Passivhaus Plus case studies

The UK is awaiting its first Passivhaus Premium project, but there has been a flurry of pioneering Passivhaus Plus schemes.

Certified




In development

Passivhaus Criteria

Passivhaus buildings prioritise energy efficiency, requiring very little energy to heat or cool. As can be seen from the criteria below, much is the same in the new classes. The building’s total primary energy is assessed, but split into demand and renewable energy generation.

The Plus and Premium classes can also be applied to the EnerPHit retrofit standard. Full criteria details on the new classes and how to achieve them can be viewed here.

	Classic	Classic	Plus	Premium
	PE: Non-renewable Primary Energy calculation	PER: Primary Energy Renewable calculation
Heating Demand	≤15kWh/m².yr	≤15kWh/m².yr	≤15kWh/m².yr	≤15kWh/m².yr
Cooling Demand (non-domestic buildings only)	≤15kWh/m².yr	≤15kWh/m².yr	≤15kWh/m².yr	≤15kWh/m².yr
Heating/ Cooling Load	≤10W/m²	≤10W/m²	≤10W/m²	≤10W/m²
Airtightness n50 ACH	≤0.6ach@50pascals	≤0.6ach@50pascals	≤0.6ach@50pascals	≤0.6ach@50pascals
Entire Primary Energy Demand	≤135kWh/m².yr	≤ 60kWh/m².yr	≤45kWh/m².yr	≤ 30kWh/m².yr
Entire Primary Energy Renewable Generation (in relation to projected building footprint area.)	-	-	≥ 60kWh/m².yr	≥ 120kWh/m².yr

Pioneer Passivhaus project upgraded to Passivhaus Plus

The first Passive House in the world was built in Darmstadt-Kranichstein (Germany) 25 years ago by four private homeowners on their own personal initiative. Ever since the homeowners moved in with their families in 1991, these terraced houses have been regarded as a pioneer project for the Passive House Standard. 25 years later, building physicists have attested to the unimpaired functioning of the first Passive House and its unchanged low heating energy consumption. With its newly installed photovoltaic system, the world's first Passive House now utilises renewable energy and received the Passive House Plus certificate for this reason.

We are always interested to hear about Passivhaus schemes in the UK. If you have a Passivhaus project in the pipeline – let us know by completing and returning the project request form along with some images.