What does PH look like?

Passive House can be built to suit a variety of tastes and sizes using almost any building material and interior finish. Every house will be different, and Passive House has the flexibility to accommodate styles ranging from historic to traditional to contemporary without sacrificing any major benefits of the building standard. In special cases, when a chosen aesthetic requires a detail counterproductive to the energy efficiency of the building, the design team simply works to modify the condition so that it meets both the aesthetic and energy requirements.

It should be noted that Passive House is not limited to just single or multifamily homes and to date the standard includes offices, schools, and supermarkets. The vast majority are however houses due to their small scale and predictability of function. Passive Houses are intended to be efficient and that does have implications on the overall size of a project. There is currently no set requirement for the size of a Passive House but the recommended area per occupant is between 215 and 540sf. This range is ideal for designing and operating a Passive House, although much larger homes have been built to Passive House standard. As the recommended areas imply, Passive House promotes high quality of life through intelligently designed, appropriately built, and efficiently operated houses.

See our case studies for a better idea about the possibilities of Passive House.

Passive House is the most effective means to design and build comfortable, healthy, durable, sustainable and energy efficient buildings  at an affordable cost. Whether your motivation is to be a steward of the environment, to save substantially on your energy bills, or to build a high quality home, choosing Passive House shows leadership and foresight.

What are the benefits? < Read more about Passive House > What is the process?