Passive house design full#
Passive house design windows#

Glazing can be one of the main thermal bridges through which heat can exit and enter a building. Smart positioning and use of thermal mass can thereby act like a natural heating and cooling system, regulating temperature highs and lows to a comfortable median.Ī vaulted living space with northern aspect at Bardolph Gardens allows sunlight to penetrate the concrete slab, keeping the house warm in winter and cool in summer. In summer, thermal mass that is shaded from the sun cools down over night and provides a cooling effect as air moves over it.

Passive house design windows#

In winter, elements of a house with high thermal mass, like a concrete floor or brick wall, can capture the heat from the sun penetrating through windows and doors, and hold onto that heat for many hours into the night, only slowly releasing it as temperatures cool. Lightweight materials, such as timber, aluminium or fibre cement sheets, have low thermal mass. High-density materials, such as concrete, brick and rammed earth, have high thermal mass as they take a long time to heat up and cool down. Thermal mass is the ability of a material to absorb and store heat, helping stabilise temperatures and improve thermal performance. Recycled brick walls and a concrete floor in Brick and Gable house provide plenty of thermal mass. At night, windows are opened to encourage cross-ventilation, which purges warm air and ventilates and cools interior spaces.

Passive house design full#

To make full use of the benefits of passive house design, the building’s operation should respond to temperature fluctuations: doors and windows are kept closed during warmer temperatures to keep cooler air inside, while window blinds and awnings are extended to provide shade and reduce the heat load of the sun. Windows are also positioned for cross- and stack ventilation to encourage air movement through a house, which helps cool people and spaces and lets built-up heat escape (see ventilation below). In summer, precisely angled shading of walls and windows, through awnings for example, will block the intense sun from entering the building, allowing the interior to remain cool. In winter, windows and doors are positioned to allow the lower angle of the sun to penetrate the interior, thereby heating materials that can absorb and store that heat for later release (see thermal mass below).

Passive heating works with the sun to warm a house during winter, while passive cooling works with shading and air movement to cool a house during summer. Passive heating and cooling is the most energy efficient way to heat and cool a home utilising the sun, shade and movement of air. Copy link to this chapter Go to top Passive heating and cooling