A certifiable set of practices for building houses that require very little energy to live in.
Passive Houses are houses built to a performance-based standard for requiring very little energy for heating and cooling. Seems to be a European thing. It’s not overly prescriptive about how it’s done, but keys in on great insulation and minimized air transfer.
The standard dictates:
- No more than 15kWh per square meter for ANNUAL heating and cooling
- No more than 60kWh/m^2 for all electricity in a year.
- No more air than 60% the volume of the house can leave the house over the course of an hour.