Passive House (Passivhaus) construction

Passive house design is a building standard focused on creating energy-efficient, comfortable, and healthy buildings with minimal need for active heating or cooling. This is achieved through a combination of high-performance insulation, excellent air-tightness, including high-efficiency windows and doors, and a heat recovery ventilation system to maintain a healthy living environment. The principles can be applied to any building type and are used globally, not just in Germany where the standard originated.

The air-tightness element is one of the most demanding during the construction process and is evaluated using the blower door test  seen in the photo here. This test is also used for other building certification systems such as LEED and BREEAM

I am a certified Passivhaus installer, trained by Energiehaus;  the main protagonists/architects for Passivhaus design and training in the Iberian Peninsula. I also subsequently worked for them on their flagship Showpass project in Poblenou,  Barcelona.

Building to the high standards demanded for Passivhaus certification is challenging and requires very tight quality control throughout the construction process if certification is to be achieved at the end. Construction methods and techniques need to be adapted and  I can control this aspect of a project, not least as I am able to instruct tradesmen by example.