WHAT IS A PASSIVE HOUSE?

The term "Passive House" (not to be confused with passive solar design, though there are overlapping principles) refers to a design and construction standard that aims to drastically reduce heating requirements in homes so that oversized conventional heating systems are no longer necessary. The homes maintain constant temperatures and do not rely on wasteful amounts of fossil fuels to continually heat and cool, therefore passive.

HOW DOES A PASSIVE HOUSE WORK?

The strategy of a Passive House is to reuse "free" heat to heat the home.

"Free" heat is generated from all electrical and gas appliances such ovens, refrigerators, computers and light bulbs. The building envelope of a Passive House must be extremely well insulated and air-tight so that this "free" heat can not unintentionally escape out of the building.

HOW IS ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURED?


Pictured above is one of the original Passive Houses in Daarmstadt, Germany, from Wikipidia.
  

 A diagram from the Wikepedia website of a Passive House for a very cold climate. Passive Homes are designed according to their specific climate conditions. Triple pane windows are not always required. The ground heat exchanger is also optional.