An essential guide for anyone wanting to realize a supremely comfortable, healthy, and durable home with exceptionally low energy costs, this book brings together current thinking and best practice in Passivhaus design. This type of design focuses on getting the building fabric right, to achieve ultralow energy consumption in the most cost-effective manner. The approach is relevant to a wide range of building types and climates. Whether you are building an extension, retrofitting your house or starting from scratch, and whether you are new to low-energy design or already have some experience, this book will help you navigate around the potential pitfalls and misconceptions. The book includes a clear explanation of the underlying building physics and terminology; detailed information on key elements of Passivhaus: avoiding air leakage, designing out thermal (cold) bridges, moisture management, and ventilation strategy. It offers practical advice on setting up a project, including developing a motivated project team, and a discussion of economic considerations and the policy context in the UK. As pressure on global resources increases and energy prices continue to rise, the Passovhaus approach, proven over 20 years, meets the challenge of ultralow-energy building for the future.

'As we move towards the 2016 zero carbon target in house building, Passivhaus construction looks like becoming not just popular in the UK, but commonplace. This is a no-nonsense and engaging introduction on how to do it.' KEVIN MCCLOUD - The Passivhaus Handbook is an essential guide for anyone wanting to realise a supremely comfortable, healthy and durable home with exceptionally low energy costs. Passivhaus design focuses on getting the building fabric right, to achieve ultra-low energy consumption cost-effectively. The approach is relevant to a wide range of building types and climates. Its methodology can be combined with elements of other building standards, such as the UK's Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH), or with other sustainable building goals, such as a commitment to using low-impact or natural building materials. Whether you are building an extension, retrofitting your house or starting from scratch, and whether you are new to low-energy design or already have some experience, this book will help you navigate around the potential pitfalls and misconceptions. It brings together current thinking and best practice. The book includes a clear explanation of the underlying building physics and terminology, as well as detailed information on key elements of Passivhaus: avoiding air leakage, designing thermal (cold) bridges, moisture management and ventilation strategy. There is also lots of practical advice on setting up a project, including developing a motivated project team, and a discussion of economic considerations and the policy context in the UK. As pressure on global resources increases and energy prices continue to rise, the Passivhaus approach, proven over 20 years, meets the challenge of ultra-low-energy building for the future.

Passivhaus is the fastest growing energy performance standard in the world, with almost 50,000 buildings realised to date. Applicable to both domestic and non-domestic building types, the strength of Passivhaus lies in the simplicity of the concept. As European and global energy directives move ever closer towards Zero (fossil) Energy standards, Passivhaus provides a robust ‘fabric first’ approach from which to make the next step. The Passivhaus Designers Manual is the most comprehensive technical guide available to those wishing to design and build Passivhaus and Zero Energy Buildings. As a technical reference for architects, engineers and construction professionals The Passivhaus Designers Manual provides: State of the art guidance for anyone designing or working on a Passivhaus project; In depth information on building services, including high performance ventilation systems and ultra-low energy heating and cooling systems; Holistic design guidance encompassing: daylight design, ecological materials, thermal comfort, indoor air quality and economics; Practical advice on procurement methods, project management and quality assurance; Renewable energy systems suitable for Passivhaus and Zero Energy Buildings; Practical case studies from the UK, USA, and Germany amongst others; Detailed worked examples to show you how it’s done and what to look out for; Expert advice from 20 world renowned Passivhaus designers, architects, building physicists and engineers. Lavishly illustrated with nearly 200 full colour illustrations, and presented by two highly experienced specialists, this is your one-stop shop for comprehensive practical information on Passivhaus and Zero Energy buildings.

Passive House Details introduces the concepts, principles, and design processes of building ultralow-energy buildings. The objective of this book is to provide design goals, research, analysis, systems, details, and inspiring images of some of the most energy-efficient, carbon-neutral, healthy, and satisfying buildings currently built in the region. Other topics included: heat transfer, moisture management, performance targets, and climatic zones. Illustrated with more than 375 color images, the book is a visual catalog of construction details, materials, and systems drawn from projects contributed from forty firms. Fourteen in-depth case studies demonstrate the most energy-efficient systems for foundations, walls, floors, roofs, windows, doors, and more.

Throughout the world, Passive House is now recognised as the best method to create comfortable, healthy, low energy buildings and it is a key component of the 21st century's green economic revolution. Written by one of the UK's leading passive house architects, this book contains essays that reveal the technical and creative secrets of Passive House design, as well as containing case studies of some of the world's best examples of beautiful, technically excellent buildings that still feel great even when the power supply is turned down to almost nothing. Whether you are an architect, client, student or construction professional, this book is an enlightening introduction to Passive House and a valuable source of inspiration.

Pretty Good House provides a framework and set of guidelines for building or renovating a high-performance home that focus on its inhabitants and the environment--but keeps in mind that few people have pockets deep enough to achieve a "perfect" solution. The essential idea is for homeowners to work within their financial and practical constraints both to meet their own needs and do as much for the planet as possible. A Pretty Good House is: * A house that's as small as possible * Simple and durable, but also well designed * Insulated and air-sealed * Above all, it is affordable, healthy, responsible, and resilient.

The passive house standard is developing more and more into the international key currency of energy-efficient construction. Passive houses are being erected in almost all parts of the world and for all types of users. "Plus energy" buildings and entire zero-energy districts show that the passive house standard is also a sound basis for advanced efficiency strategies. At the same time, many architects are unsure about the specifics: What do passive houses really deliver, and what errors need to be avoided during planning? The book "Passive House Design" gives readers confidence in dealing with the passive house standard from the very first design draft. It shows how much scope for design there is in passive houses and explains design strategies that lead to better passive buildings. Detailed documentations of both residential and non-residential buildings illustrate how design, construction and building technology combine in passive houses. Chapters on building physics, building services engineering and energy balancing provide the required detailed knowledge for being able to implement your own passive house projects.