FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Tiktok YouTube Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Subscribe
Log In
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
Log In
Design

The Passive House: Green Without Gizmos

“Use less energy” is the mantra of a stringent German building standard that’s catching on.

By Jefferson Kolle Issue 210

Synopsis: The Passive House standard, developed in Germany in 1996, has three simple requirements that can result in a house that uses precious little energy. The requirements, which focus on air infiltration, Btu consumption, and energy usage, surpass building-code and Energy Star requirements. Houses built to the standard have become popular in Europe and are starting to catch on in the United States. Because Passive Houses are tightly air-sealed, mechanical ventilation is necessary. Passive Houses aren’t necessarily net-zero houses; creating energy isn’t part of the guidelines. However, many Passive Houses are close to net-zero because they use so little energy.

Passive House is a performance-based building standard that can result in a house that consumes as little as 10% of the total heating and cooling energy used by a house built to the 2006 building code. If you’re an architect or builder, imagine the reaction you’ll get from clients when you tell them that you can either build a house that uses energy by the dollar or one that uses it by the dime.

To achieve their impressively low levels of energy consumption, certified Passive Houses rely on proper solar orientation, an airtight envelope, lots of insulation, mechanical ventilation, and the reuse of heat.

Designing and building a Passive House requires using proprietary energy-load software aimed at keeping energy use low and includes construction that can be painstaking. A flubbed detail can mean the difference between reaching the standard or not.

Lower lifetime energy use

The Passive House standard was developed in Germany (where it’s known as “Passivhaus”) in 1996 by physicist Wolfgang Feist, who was inspired by and fully acknowledges the influence of the groundbreaking, superinsulated houses built in the United States and Canada in the 1970s. In this country, Feist’s work has been championed by German-born architect Katrin Klingenberg, who started the Passive House Institute US, also known as PHIUS (www.passivehouse.us) in Urbana, Ill.

Upwards of 20,000 Passive Houses have been built in Europe, and while there are fewer than two dozen in this country, there are many on the drawing board, and the movement has gained converts quickly as energy prices have increased.

Armed with the mantra “First, use less energy,” Passive House advocates say that rather than getting hung up on the amount of energy it takes to build a home, it is more important to look at how much energy the home will use during its lifetime. Statistics differ, but on average, a typical code-built house will use 10 times more energy to heat, cool, and operate its various systems for 40 years than the amount used to build it.

To get an idea of how little energy a Passive House uses, it helps to look at the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index, a software-generated number that predicts a house’s energy based on its design.

Houses built to the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) score a 100 on the HERS index. Energy Star and LEED homes can’t surpass 80 or 85, depending on their climate zone. Net-zero homes score the lowest, at 0. A Passive House scores between 20 and 30 on the HERS index.

While a net-zero house may use less total energy than a Passive House, it achieves that score by adding energy made with alternative-energy sources into the calculations. The Passive House standard disallows site-generated alternative-energy sources in its computations and relies instead solely on its low energy consumption. As Klingenberg notes, “A Passive House can become a net-zero house with the addition of a very small renewable-energy system.” The standard doesn’t change from one location to another, but the way a house is built does.

For more photos, drawings, and details, click the View PDF button below:

Sign up for eletters today and get the latest how-to from Fine Homebuilding, plus special offers.

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters
×

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters
View PDF

New Feature

Fine Homebuilding Forums

Ask questions, offer advice, and share your work

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up Log in

Become a member and get full access to FineHomebuilding.com

Up Next

Video Shorts

Featured Story

Directing Drainage Under a Driveway

A properly installed 4-in. corrugated drainage pipe running under a driveway can withstand the pressure of a 40,000-lb. truck.

Featured Video

A Modern California Home Wrapped in Rockwool Insulation for Energy Efficiency and Fire Resistance

The designer and builder of the 2018 Fine Homebuilding House detail why they chose mineral-wool batts and high-density boards for all of their insulation needs.

Related Stories

  • Meet Current Energy Codes with Continuous Insulation
  • The Fine Homebuilding Interview: Lloyd Alter
  • Turn Up the Heat With Induction Cooktops
  • Inflation Reduction Act: Energy Upgrades and Tax Credits

Discussion Forum

Recent Posts and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
View More Create Post

Highlights

Fine Homebuilding All Access
Fine Homebuilding Podcast
Tool Tech
Plus, get an extra 20% off with code GIFT20

"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Video

View All Videos
  • Podcast 589: Members-only Aftershow—Advanced Framing
  • Podcast 571: Pooling on Flat Roofs, Irrigation Timers, and Single-Pane Windows
  • Podcast 562: PRO TALK With Builder and Author Dan Kolbert
  • Podcast 555: Members-only Aftershow — Talking with Keegan McAuliffe of Capra Home Concepts
View All

Energy Efficiency

View All Energy Efficiency Articles
  • Passive House Homestead on Protected Land
  • Podcast 589: Members-only Aftershow—Advanced Framing
  • A Flat Roof in a Cold Climate
  • Introducing Fine Homebuilding House 2023
View All Energy Efficiency Articles

BOOKS, DVDs, & MERCH

Shop the Store
  • 2023 Tool Guide
    Buy Now
  • Pretty Good House
    Buy Now
  • Code Check Complete 3rd Edition
    Buy Now
Shop the Store

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 318 - October 2023
    • Make Mudsills Square and Level
    • Turn Up the Heat With Induction Cooktops
    • The Fine Homebuilding Interview: Lloyd Alter
  • Issue 317 - Aug/Sept 2023
    • Finishing Drywall With Seamless Results
    • A Flat Roof in a Cold Climate
    • Compact Cordless Shop Vacs
  • Issue 316 - July 2023
    • Timber-Framed Solar Canopies
    • Build a Transom Above a Stock Door
    • Understanding Toilet Design and Efficiency
  • Issue 315 - June 2023
    • How to Craft a Copper Roof
    • 5 Lessons from Building in a Cold Climate
    • The Advantages of Cellular PVC Siding
  • Issue 314 - April/May 2023
    • 7 Options for Countertops
    • Tool Test: Wood-Boring Bits
    • Critical Details for Ductless Heat Pumps

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

  • YouTube
  • instagram
  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • Tiktok
  • twitter

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Privacy Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Do not sell or share my information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2023 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

X
X
This is a dialog window which overlays the main content of the page. The modal window is a 'site map' of the most critical areas of the site. Pressing the Escape (ESC) button will close the modal and bring you back to where you were on the page.

Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • FHB House
  • Customer Support

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Follow

  • YouTube
  • instagram
  • facebook
  • pinterest
  • Tiktok
  • twitter

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 70%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in