Passivhaus Plus
This building will meet the same criteria as Passivhaus Classic with primary energy use met on site with renewable energy sources.
Passivhaus Premium
This building will also meet the same criteria as Passivhaus Classic, but primary energy use on site is exceeded with renewable energy sources.
Energy Conservation Building (not a Passivhaus)
This building just misses achieving the Passivhaus standard, but is still very efficient. It is assessed using the Passivhaus planning Package. The criteria are:
Heating Demand
30 kWh/sq m /year (for a typical 100 sq m house with electricity at 14p/kWh, the annual heating cost is £420.16 or £8.08 per week).
Primary Energy Demand
140 kWh/sq m/year (this is total energy use, including losses in transmission cables, the power station and extracting fuel).
EnerPHit – Passivhaus for Retrofit
Different targets can be used which address the challenges posed by existing buildings.
For these the EnerPHit criteria for air tightness and heating demand apply, the other criteria being the same as Passivhaus:
EnerPHit Heating Demand 25 kWh/sq m/year.
EnerPHit Peak Heating Load 10 W/sq m.
EnerPHit Air-tightness 1.0 air change per hour at 50Pa pressure (no draughts).
Passivhaus Standards
The Passivhaus Institut in Germany in 2014 introduced additional Passivhaus categories to ensure that Passivhaus meets EU standards for all new developments to be ‘Nearly Zero Energy Buildings’ in 2021. These categories are:
Passivhaus Classic - the rebranded current Passivhaus standard, which is described in this website. For new buildings this remains the minimum standard to be reached before Passivhaus Plus and Passivhaus Premium standards can be awarded.
A Passivhaus Classic will be certified when it meets the following criteria:
Energy
Heating Demand
Peak Heating Load
Primary Energy Demand
Comfort
Low air leakage
Surface Temperatures
Summer Overheating
Ventilation (fresh air)
15 kWh/sq m /year (for a typical 100 sq m house with electricity at 14p/kWh, the annual heating cost is £210 or £4.04 per week).
10 W/sq m (for a typical 100 sq m house a single 1kW heater, or ten 100W light bulbs will heat the whole house on the coldest day of the year).
120 kWh/sq m/year (this is total energy use, including losses in transmission cables, the power station and extracting fuel).
0.6 air changes per hour at 50Pa pressure (no draughts).
No less than 17 degrees C on the coldest day, including windows.
No more than 10% of annual hours greater than 25 degrees C.
Approx. 30 cu m/hour per person – a scientifically proven level of fresh air optimum for health.
