The Passive House concept represents today’s highest energy standard for building construction. Heating and cooling energy consumption of buildings can be reduced by up to 85%. A Passive House is a very well-insulated, virtually airtight building that is primarily heated by passive solar gain and by internal gains from people and equipment. Energy losses are minimized. Any remaining heat demand is provided by a very small source. Shading and window orientation minimizes heat gain, helping to limit and minimize any cooling load. An energy recovery ventilator provides a constant, balanced fresh air supply, creating comfortable indoor air quality.

“A Passive House is a comprehensive system. “Passive” describes this system’s underlying receptivity and retention capacity. Working with natural resources, free solar energy is captured + applied efficiently, instead of relying predominantly on ‘active’ systems to bring a building to ‘zero’ energy. High performance triple-glazed windows, super-insulation, an airtight building shell, limitation of thermal bridging and balanced energy recovery ventilation make possible extraordinary reductions in energy use and carbon emission.”     - Passive House Institute US