Passivhaus – housing of the future?

NASA confirmed today that the Earth is warming at a faster pace than anything seen in the past 1000 years. Every year turns out to be hotter than the last and initial desperate predictions that we could keep climate change to a maximum of a 1.5 degrees centigrade rise now look absurdly optimistic. A rise of only 1.5 degrees would now come as a massive relief.

The construction and housing industry is responsible for a massive portion of our global CO2 emissions. In the UK, for instance, housing accounts for over 40% of the total emissions. Much of that is generated by either heating or cooling, dependent on the area and time of year. Housing sits alongside transport as one of the worst offenders in this regard and improvements must be made, especially when considering that good design can cut emissions and energy bills by over two thirds.

A lesser known construction method which is growing in popularity around the world is the Passivhaus technique. Passivhaus buildings provide a high level of comfort for the occupant and use a very low level of energy, instead being designed to take advantage of passive heating or cooling methods present in the local natural environment. When the design of the building takes the natural environment into consideration as part of the architecture, it is possible to create housing en masse which coexists with our shared environment rather than constantly battling against it.

Passivhaus is the fastest growing and most rigorous environmental standard in the world. At present there are approximately 30,000 completed and certified Passivhaus schemes, mainly in Europe, but this number is set to increase. The world’s population is growing rapidly at the same time as the climate is becoming more extreme; we will have a need to buildings where people can live without having to fuel excessive heating or cooling and Passivhaus, and other schemes like it, are one possible way forward in the future.