4. No performance gap

Good planning as well as careful execution of the details is essential in the construction of Passive House buildings. This ensures that the high requirements for the building envelope and technology can be met. That is why designers, specialist planners and tradespeople need additional expertise, which can be acquired and substantiated with the Certified Passive House training courses.

To find a Passive House professional in your region, check out these maps:

Certified Passive House Designer / Consultants

Certified Passive House Tradespeople

The Passive House Standard is achieved by means of highly efficient building systems, careful planning and highly efficient components, which are generally two to three times more efficient than commonly used products. This high level of efficiency is critical to achieving the Passive House Standard. However, it is often very difficult for the designer to assess the energy-efficiency, durability and the necessary energy parameters of a component. The available standard parameters are frequently unrealistic or not accurate enough.

As an independent authority, the Passive House Institute tests and certifies products in respect of their suitability for use in Passive Houses. Certified products have been tested according to uniform criteria; they are comparable in terms of their specific values and are of excellent quality regarding energy efficiency. Their use is not mandatory, but facilitates the designer’s task and helps significantly to ensure the faultless functioning of the resultant Passive House.

By certifying your Passive House building, you are assured that the agreed-upon energy standard will actually be achieved. Certification prevents errors thanks to a thorough external checking of planning prior to the start of construction. In addition, your building increases in property value through independent quality assessment.

For building certification, planning execution is checked carefully and comprehensively by an accredited Passive House building certifiers. Other documentation relating to the construction such as the airtightness test complete the quality assurance process. A certificate is only issued if the exactly defined Passive House certification criteria have been met without exception.

The Passive House Planning Package contains everything necessary for designing a properly functioning Passive House. It prepares an energy balance and calculates the annual energy demand of the building based on user input relating to the building's characteristics.

PHPP consists of a software programme and a printed manual, that can be used all over the world and are now available in several languages. It is not a black box: users can see which formulas are used and which building's characteristics should be improved. Moreover, PHPP is continuously being validated and expanded in line with measured values and new findings.

To facilitate communication and speed up the design process, your planning team may also use the plugin designPH, the graphical interface for PHPP! Some of its many advantages are listed on this designPH.org.