Passive House buildings are particularly efficient buildings and are always a theme in any discussion relating to energy efficiency. What this building standard
specifically entails can be experienced first-hand by everyone during the International Passive House Open Days in November.
From 10 – 12 November 2017, residents of Passive House buildings throughout the world will open their doors to the public. A list of buildings that are open for viewing can be found on the Internet. For a period of three days residents will be inviting the public to visit their Passive House buildings and learn more about this
extremely energy-efficient building standard. Characteristic features of the Passive House Standard include an excellent level of thermal insulation, triple glazed
windows and a ventilation system with heat recovery, among other things. Due to these components, building owners can dispense of traditional heating systems even in Central European regions.
For this reason, the costs for heating energy are negligibly small. Residents of Passive House buildings pay only a fraction of normal heating costs. Due to the low energy demand, Passive House buildings can also be combined well with renewable energy generation. With the Passive House Standard, buildings owners can meet the stipulations of the European Buildings Directive today, which specifies the nearly-zero energy standard for all new buildings from the year 2020.
“Especially for those who want to build or renovate their homes, the Passive House Open Days are a good opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and to experience for themselves the high level of living comfort offered by these buildings. And occupants can demonstrate to other people that opening the windows is also possible in a Passive House building”, explains Sabine Stillfried of the Passivhaus Informations-Gemeinschaft, which is organising the Passive House Open Days in cooperation with Passivhaus Austria and the International Passive House Association (iPHA).
Viewing a Passive House building during the Open Days is easy: if you enter the name of your region or city in the database www.passivehousedatabase.org,
a list of buildings which can be viewed from 10 to 12 November 2017 will appear. Most privately owned houses will be open to the public, including those in the categories Passive House Plus and Passive House Premium, which produce renewable energy directly near the building itself. To some extent, other buildings such as schools, offices and even a student hostel will also be open to the public.
All those visiting a Passive House during the Passive House Open Days in November have the chance to win an overnight stay in a Passive House hotel at Lake Garda or in the Alps. To take part in the prize draw, simply post a picture of your visit to a Passive House building on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #iPHopendays.
For further information, visit https://passivehouse-international.org.
