1/19/2021 CPD 9 2020: Understanding the Passivhaus Standard – Building | Building Design | Housing Today CPDs

CPD 9 2020: Understanding the Passivhaus Standard

This Kingspan sponsored CPD takes a close-up look at

the requirements of Passivhaus and how offsite
approaches are making it increasingly viable and cost-
effectivei

Introduction

As we move towards net-zero building standards in the next few years, one of the most
signi cant issues for the industry to address is closing the gap between the predicted
energy performance of buildings and what they achieve once completed and occupied.
Research has shown that the actual energy demand from buildings can be more than
double that predicted at the design stage, undermining efforts to reduce carbon emissions
and the cost savings expected by owners.

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The Kingspan TEK building system of SIPs formed the structure of Passivhaus certi ed
terraces on the Greenhauses development in Sulgrave Gardens, Shepherds Bush, west
London

This performance gap can be caused by a variety of factors at different project stages,
including inaccurate detailing, changes in speci cation, poor workmanship, and a lack of
adequate building management information on handover. Occupier behaviour also has a
big impact on building energy use. To overcome these challenges, it is vital to have greater
communication between all stakeholders and a more rigorous approach to how work is
considered, carried out and assessed. This has led to increased focus on the Passivhaus
Standard – a voluntary energy performance standard with exacting requirements for
fabric performance, airtightness and the elimination of thermal bridges to deliver
buildings with extremely low measured energy demand.
Once considered a niche approach restricted to energy conscious self-builds, the standard
is increasingly being adopted on larger-scale projects and housing developments, most

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notably the Stirling prize-winning Goldsmith Street in Norwich.

In this CPD, we will take a closer look at the requirements of Passivhaus and how offsite
approaches are making it an increasingly viable and cost-effective solution.

Brief history of Passivhaus

While passive building approaches have been an essential component of construction
since the earliest structures, their rise in the modern context came as a result of rising
energy costs following the oil crisis in the 1970s. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s a
number of research projects were established to consider building methods that combined
highly insulated and airtight constructions and mechanical ventilation. The Passivhaus
Standard itself was developed during the late 1980s by two scientists – Dr Wolfgang Feist
and Professor Bo Adamson. Feist highlighted that concerns around the performance gap
were a key driver in his own involvement. He said: “I read that the construction industry
had experimented with adding insulation to new buildings and that energy consumption
had failed to reduce. This offended me – it was counter to the basic laws of physics […] So I
made it my mission to nd out what [they were doing wrong] and to establish what was
needed to do it right.”
The pair de ned the core principles of the standard – setting clear limits for aspects such
as overall energy demand and air leakage, to create properties that are comfortable and
require very little energy to heat or cool. The rst Passivhaus was completed in 1991.
Since then more than 65,000 buildings have been designed, built and certi ed to this
standard worldwide.

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When creating their EnerPHit certi ed studio on green belt, Sjölander da Cruz Architects
stripped back a barn building to the original frame and reclad it with Kingspan TEK
cladding panel SIPs

Performance requirements and certi cation process

To achieve certi cation under the Passivhaus standard, a typical European property must
meet the criteria as shown in table 1. To put these gures in context, the maximum space
heating demand for a Passivhaus building is about 10% that of the average UK home,
which is estimated by the Passivhaus Trust to be around 140kWh/m2/yr. It is worth
highlighting that, as Passivhaus is focused on reducing demand primarily through
improvements to the building fabric, there is no requirement for renewable generation
technologies such as photovoltaic panels.
In addition to the full Passivhaus standard, the Passivhaus EnerPHit standard has also
been developed to provide a more practical and cost-effective approach for energy retro t
projects. The parameters within this standard are somewhat relaxed in recognition of the
numerous additional challenges these projects pose. These include xed building

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orientation, unusual architectural features and potential planning restrictions. European

retro ts completed to this standard must reach the performance targets as shown in table
2.

Criterion Target

Primary energy demand ≤ 120kWh/m2 yr

Space heating demand ≤ 15kWh/m2 yr

Space cooling demand ≤ 15kWh/m2 yr

Speci c cooling load ≤ 10kWh/m2 yr

Airtightness (n50) ≤ 0.6 air changes per hour

Table 1: Performance targets for the Passivhaus Standard for a project in a European
climate

Criterion Target

Primary energy demand ≤ 120kWh/m2 yr + heat load factor

Space heating demand ≤ 25kWh/m2 yr

Space cooling demand ≤ 25kWh/m2 yr

Speci c cooling load ≤ 10kWh/m2 yr

Airtightness (n50) ≤ 1.0 air changes per hour @ 50 pascals

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Table 2: Performance targets for the EnerPHit Standard for a project in a European
climate

Key design features

In order to meet these requirements, Passivhaus buildings feature a number of typical
design elements. All construction elements will typically need to be insulated to a high
level with U-values of at least 0.15W/m2 K and typically much lower. This means that the
thermal conductivity (lambda value) of insulation materials is a key criterion during the
speci cation process, as products with lower thermal conductivities will be able to reach
the demanding U-value targets with a slimmer thickness. This can reduce construction
depths and help to maximise internal space.
It is also a requirement that the building is fundamentally free from thermal bridging. To
achieve this, close attention to detailing is crucial when designing the building and
installing the insulation to ensure that potential thermal bridges around openings and at
junctions, especially those between the wall and oor, are properly addressed.
As well as ensuring excellent insulation continuity at the junctions around windows and
doors, these units themselves must deliver excellent thermal performance. Typically, this
means installing triple-glazed windows and specially designed exterior doors. Care should
be taken during the design phase to consider potential solar gains and to manage this
either through adjustments to the orientation of the building, the size and location of
glazing or through effective shading measures.
To maintain more consistent internal temperature and comfort levels, buildings must
achieve air leakage rates no higher than 0.6 air changes per hour (ach) at 50Pa (Pascals)
with a slightly more relaxed standard of 1.0 ach @ 50Pa for EnerPHit. According to BRE
this is the equivalent of a hole the size of a ve-pence piece for every 5m2 of building
envelope. It is important to note that the testing methodology and expression of the
airtightness for Passivhaus buildings, the n50 standard, is different from the q50 air

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permeability test used for Building Regulations compliance. Results from one method
cannot be converted to the other. The required airtightness is typically achieved by
installing an air barrier layer, such as oriented strand board (OSB), and airtight tape, which
is applied to seal all junctions.
This highly airtight construction necessitates the use of mechanical ventilation to maintain
a constant supply of fresh air. In most cases, this is achieved via a mechanical ventilation
with heat recovery (MVHR) system. MVHR systems extract the heat from outgoing stale
air and transfer it to warm incoming fresh air, further reducing the heating demand and
ensuring a fresh, comfortable environment within the home. It is essential that this is
accompanied with a clear and comprehensive ventilation strategy to ensure that the
system performs effectively in all areas of the property, maintaining high levels of indoor
air quality.

Certi cation process

The standard provides a clear and rigorous assessment framework to ensure all certi ed
buildings meet performance expectations. This process is supported through the Passive
House Planning Package (PHPP), a bespoke energy modelling tool that helps designers to
assess and compare speci cation options and ensure the nal design is expected to
comply.
On a typical project, a basic assessment of the initial building concept will be carried out by
a Passivhaus consultant or the architect using PHPP. This may, for example, include default
U-values for the different elements without the nal insulation speci cation being made.
This will then be assessed by the Passivhaus certi er with feedback provided to allow for
re nements of the initial concept. This process may be repeated more than once if
substantial changes are needed.
Once the design is developed, including the full speci cation, it is more thoroughly
assessed in PHPP to allow for further optimisation. Again, the PHPP output and any
supporting literature should be submitted to the Passivhaus certi er for approval. Only
once the design has been fully assessed and approved by the certi er should any
construction work begin. There should also be clear agreement about how any queries or

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changes in the speci cation will be communicated to and approved by the certi er during
the construction work to ensure smooth progress.
Both during construction and on completion, the building should be tested to prove it
meets key assessment criteria. For example, in the case of air leakage, it is recommended
to carry out an initial pressure test once the air barrier is tted but before any appliances
and services are installed, to allow any defects to be easily identi ed and addressed.
Further assessments should then be carried out once service penetrations are made, prior
to installing xtures and appliances to allow easy access, and on completion. The results
are then sent to the certi er to ensure they meet the standard’s requirements before the
certi cate is issued.
As airtight construction is an essential requirement, and relatively unusual in UK
construction, the BRE recommends an “airtightness champion” is appointed to take a lead
on all work related to maintaining the integrity of the airtight barrier. The champion
should be site-based throughout the build but should not have existing administrative
commitments, in other words not be the project manager or the clerk of works. The
champion should have a clear understanding of the air-leakage strategy and be able to
communicate this to members of the team and ensure that all measures are correctly
installed. They can also act as the point of contact with the pressure-testing specialists and
should oversee any remedial measures that may be required following tests.
This thorough process, supported with the post-completion assessment, should provide
clear assurance that properties will perform as expected. A recent study of 97 UK
Passivhaus certi ed properties showed that, on average, there was no statistically
signi cant energy performance gap for these properties. The standard therefore offers a
proven candidate for off-the-shelf adoption for compliance with the proposed Future
Homes Standard as a method whose as-built performance can clearly be demonstrated at
scale.
The issue of how scalable the exacting requirements of Passivhaus are has previously been
seen as a barrier to adoption – particularly given the deepening skills shortage within the
UK construction sector. In recent years, however, the increased adoption of offsite
methods has begun to change attitudes. These methods offer several key characteristics
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that make them well suited to meeting the demands of Passivhaus consistently across
large developments and complex buildings.

The spanning capacity of the SIPs panels allowed architects to include vaulted ceilings
within this new-build Passivhaus home in South Manchester

How offsite can support Passivhaus construction

By moving production offsite and into dedicated manufacturing facilities, offsite building
methods can offer a more straightforward and precise solution for almost all aspects of
construction, including the building structure and envelope.
Offsite elements are typically rst created digitally using computer aided design (CAD).
Once these designs are agreed, they can be input directly into the fabrication process,
meaning the nal construction exactly matches the design. This level of precision is
particularly bene cial for Passivhaus projects as it means that services can be accurately
pre-planned and features such as windows and doors will t exactly within the envelope.
Similarly, junctions between the different construction elements can be pre-designed to

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allow improved insulation continuity. This can help to minimise air leakage and thermal
bridges, streamlining on-site processes while ensuring the demanding fabric performance
requirements are met.
The factory-controlled manufacturing process also supports improved scalability on larger
developments. Multiple units can be precisely recreated from a single CAD le and
production timescales can be accurately predicted. This allows for improved planning and
can facilitate just-in-time delivery of components during the construction work, thereby
minimising the need for on-site storage.
Site labour requirements are also reduced as, in addition to simplifying detailing, large
sections of the building structure and envelope can usually be tted by a small team of
workers using mechanical lifting equipment. This can considerably reduce the time taken
to make structures weathertight – allowing internal trades to begin work much faster than
would otherwise be possible.
For example, research has shown that on a typical two-storey detached property built
using structural insulated panels (SIP), construction can be made weathertight as much as
eight weeks faster than with a conventional masonry approach. This time saving can be
carried through to completion, potentially reducing preliminary costs such as plant,
scaffolding and security, and limiting potential disruption due to adverse weather.

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The Research and Demonstration Building at the University of Nottingham features a SIP
construction. The building is certi ed BREEAM Outstanding and incorporates a number of
Passivhaus measures

How Passivhaus principles are in uencing building regulations

The recent consultations for the updates to the energy performance requirements for new
homes in England and Wales (contained within Part L of the Building Regulations in each
country) suggest that the success of Passivhaus is starting to shape future building
standards. In particular, the more ambitious option within the Welsh consultation, which
targets a 56% reduction over current emission levels, includes stricter U-value targets and
airtightness requirements with the requirement for MVHR units.
While the consultations lack the rigorous post-completion assessments that are a key part
of Passivhaus, they demonstrate a clear direction of travel towards this fabric- rst
approach to construction. By understanding Passivhaus principles and how offsite
solutions can allow these to be met, it should be possible to close the performance gap

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within new buildings, delivering properties that are comfortable and well constructed and
which will contribute to meeting the net zero carbon emissions target by 2050.

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 CPD 9 2020: Understanding the Passivhaus Standard

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