Passive Construction is a construction model that emphasizes energy efficiency. This initiative aims to ensure high levels of comfort inside homes with as low energy consumption as possible. For passive house construction we offer quality services and products at Construction companies in Lahore.
Passive Constructions
This engineering standard was born in Germany in 1991 and is also known as Passive House Construction . At present it has spread throughout the world and has its own certification: the Passive House Construction Certificate .
For a house to consider a Passive Construction it has to meet a basic requirement. This is that the annual energy demand does not exceed 15 kWh/m 2.
In addition, it is committed to dispensing with the use of conventional heating systems based on fossil fuels.
Basic Pillars of Passive Construction
Place there are 5 basic principles on which the focus when considering whether a house is passive house const.
- Thermal insulation
- High performance windows
- Controlled ventilation
- Tightness
- Elimination of thermal bridges
Thermal Isolation
Thermal insulation not only contributes to maintaining a comfortable temperature in the home. The better the insulation, the lower the energy cost. And this is another of the keys of Passive Construction to reduce carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.
To achieve this, use materials with high thermal inertia. Defined this property as the ability to store heat, conserve it, and release it gradually. Thus, elements with a high thermal inertia make it possible to maintain a stable temperature inside the dwellings.
High Performance Windows
As a particularly delicate element for proper insulation and sealing, Passive Construction demands high performance from windows.
Consider Low emission type glass windows high performance. This glass has the ability to reflect heat from inside the house during winter. And repel heat outside in summer.
In addition, requires double glazing, or even triple and with padding in the chambers in the most extreme climates.
Passive Construction Ventilation
Passive Construction undoes traditional ventilation systems because they are inefficient. Instead, controlled ventilation with heat recovery is proposed . It is a mechanical system in which a circuit is responsible for the entry of outside air. In parallel, another different circuit carries out the emptying of the air.
At the same time, the air filtered during the process, guaranteeing its quality and the expulsion of harmful agents such as carbon dioxide. And also, remove excess water vapor, and ventilate odors from human activity.
Consider it that this type of ventilation present in any passive construction reduces heat losses by up to 80% . At the same time, can reuse the absorbed heat to generate heating.
Tightness
Airtightness or airtightness is essential in passive construction. Its direct effect on the energy efficiency of the home is beyond any doubt. The points sensitive to leaks, which significantly affect the comfort of the home, measure using the Blower-Door pressurization test .
Carries out Air tightness tests in the areas that tend to present the most problems. In summary, some of them are:
- The walls, floors, and ceilings themselves and their envelopes.
- The crossing points of the walls with wooden structures or the wrought iron.
- Roof height changes.
- The placement of windows and window frames.
- Window boxes and shutters, doors, walls, etc.
- Energy saving
Thermal Bridges
Can define thermal bridges as major sources of loss of heat or coolness in the home. What Passive Construction seeks is to achieve the absence of these thermal bridges.
The most common forms that thermal bridges take in a home are:
- Use of construction material with a non-uniform thickness.
- Pillars or other elements that interrupt the thermal insulation.
- The corners or the meetings between elements of the envelope. For example, facades with overhangs or with covers, among other elements.
- Lack of continuity in the insulating envelopes.
Passive House Construction Certificate
This energy efficiency approval was born with the very concept of Passive Construction. Basically, it establishes a series of parameters that a home must meet to consider a Passive House.
The Passive House Construction. The entity responsible for this certificate, takes into account the following qualities: low energy consumption, sustainability, and efficiency.
Essential Factors for Passive House
We have already seen some of the essential factors to grant this certification.
We refer to:
- Thermal insulation,
- High-performance windows,
- Controlled ventilation,
- Sealing and
- Elimination of thermal bridges.
Keeping Energy Consumption
However, the Passive House Construction certificate focuses on other equally relevant aspects to guarantee comfort in buildings while keeping energy consumption very low.
These elements are:
- The orientation of the building.
- The degree of sun exposure .
- The use of ecological materials .
- Maximum integration in the environment.
What sought with these measures is very clear: the use of energy and natural light during the winter, and the minimization of solar incidence during the summer. In the point of view of Passive Construction is making the presence of active heating systems unnecessary , or at least reducing their use to a minimum.
Environment Study
In short, Passive Construction seeks functionality and comfort while minimizing energy spending and the consequent environmental impact.
Passive Construction on Real Data
Translating these words, which may sound somewhat abstract on paper, into real numbers, the theoretical milestones of a passive construction would be:
- Maximum heating demand : 15 kWh/m²year.
- Maximum cooling demand : 15 kWh/m² year.
For buildings with heating and cooling by air, there is an alternative to achieve: Cold and heat load less than 10 W/m².
Air tightness must not be greater than 0.6 renewals/hour with a pressure or depression of 50 Pa ( Blower-Door Test ).
For Passive Construction we are glad that every day more people choose to live in a home with maximum energy efficiency. Committed to the environment.
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