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Building a Passive House- IPHA

.....01.09.2020 IPHA International Passive House Association

Building to Passive House Standard, only cost 5% over Basic Build Standard!!

A recent article from the world-wide known “IPHA: International Passive House Association”, on what the increased costs are when upgrading from Basic Build Standard (Building Control Regulation Standard, ie: the cheapest/most basic way you are allowed to build), to the Passive House Standard (ie: the most advanced building standard in the world).

The article states that the actual increase is only around 5% over and above building basic, and not 30%, which is generally thrown around the building industry.

This is mainly due to the fact that a lot of the upgrade costs area shared, as Windows, Insulation & Ventilation are also required on basic builds, its just that these are improved or better products are used on a Passive or Low-Energy House.

It also states the even these increased costs can be kept down with proper planning & design from the outset, using properly skilled & experienced contractors, as well as properly trained, skilled, experienced & competent Architects & Designers.

In relation to the later, here at FmK, we have a fully Trained & Certified in Passive House Design Team (since 2012), we work closely with our Certified Experienced Contractors who we put through the Certified Passive House Tradesperson Training (2018). We also take account of the 5 main Passive House Design Principles right from the beginning, at Concept/Sketch Stage. We also have a very hands-on role on the detailed design of our Low-Energy Homes in reference to cold-bridging & air-tightness as well as being heavily involved in the design & install of all our MVHR systems in each of our Low-Energy & Passive Homes.

If you want to build a Low-Energy or Passive Home, this needs to be set out at the outset, the very beginning. The Architect or Designer must be experienced & knowledgeable in Passive House, the Contractor must also be experienced in these type of builds, or at least interested and willing to learn.

Any contactors or guys on site who think it’s a waste of time, or don’t believe in the principle behind it, they are going to make achieving your Low-Energy or Passive House goal.. very, very hard to reach.

A Low-Energy or Passive House is not just a Building…. It’s a Building Science…