Passive House energy efficiency standard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house
Passivhaus in German) refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy use in buildings. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating.[1] A similar standard, MINERGIE-P®, is used in Switzerland [2]. Despite the name, the standard is not confined only to houses. Several office buildings, schools, kindergartens and a supermarket have also been constructed to the standard. Passive design is not the attachment or supplement of architectural design, but an integrated design process with the architectural design.[3] Although it is mostly applied to new buildings, it has also been used for refurbishments.
Oct 29 2007 01:02 am |
The Global Picture |
The passivhouse-standard is not for every house suitable but is getting more and more popular with new buildings, especially in the northern regions.