What is Passive House? Or Passivhaus (as the Germans say!)

Passive House offers an opportunity to create a home that is comfortable, improves your health and well-being, and lowers the energy use of your home.

This episode is an introduction to what Passive House is. As a building system, it involves a range of measures to have your home performing the way it needs to, to be deemed a Passive House.

SHOW NOTES:

What’s Passive House? Well, you may be familiar with it when it’s spelt the German way - Passivehaus.

Let me say upfront … Passive House is not to be confused with Passive Design or Passive solar design.

Passive House is a specific way of designing and building a new or renovated home so it meets certain requirements that lower its energy use and improves the health and wellbeing for its occupants.

It creates energy efficient homes. It gives a system to design, test and audit the home’s performance overall. And I actually think it’s going to get some serious traction in Australia as the best way to build or renovate your home.

Overseas, particularly in Europe, it’s popular for its ability to create energy efficient, comfortable homes that don’t need significant heating and cooling, even in extreme climates (picture snow up to the gutters!)

Here, even though in some areas of Australia - and in the USA for my American listeners - our climates may seem too mild for many to be concerned. However, Passive House offers a huge opportunity to really understand and know before you commit to construction, how your home will feel to live in, and what it will cost to run.

And that is what seriously excites me for you as the homeowner, building or renovating your family home. Imagine being able to predict exactly how your house will perform, how comfortable it will be and what it will cost to heat and cool - BEFORE you build it. And then, having a system and auditing process in place so it gets tested during and after construction, and a certificate provided to show it actually performs as promised.

That’s what Passive House enables you to do.

In this episode, I’m talking with Daniel Kress, a certified Passive House trainer and consultant. 

In this episode, Daniel and I talk about:
What is meant by the term “Passive House” (and do we call it Passive House or Passive Haus or Passivehaus!?)
How and why did you get so interested in it and choose to pursue not only building and designing this way, but also becoming a trainer in the certification courses?
What are the benefits of creating a Passive House?
What are the key components of achieving or creating a Passive House? How do you create one?
What do you see people get wrong in what they understand about Passive House?
Is it possible to renovate and create a Passive House? Or is this only achievable when building new?
Is building a Passive Home more expensive?
The certification education you do ... why is it necessary for a homeowner to use a certified Passive House Consultant. What difference does this make? And is the house only a Passive House if it’s designed and/or certified by a Certified Consultant?

Listen to the episode now.

FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST CLICK HERE

What is Passive House? Or Passivhaus (as the Germans say!)
Passive House offers an opportunity to create a home that is comfortable, improves your health and well-being, and lowers the energy use of your home.
This episode is an introduction to what Passive House is. As a building system, it involves a range of measures to have your home performing the way it needs to, to be deemed a Passive House.
SHOW NOTES:
What&rsquo;s Passive House? Well, you may be familiar with it when it&rsquo;s spelt the German way - Passivehaus.
Let me say upfront &hellip; Passive House is not to be confused with Passive Design or Passive solar design.
Passive House is a specific way of designing and building a new or renovated home so it meets certain requirements that lower its energy use and improves the health and wellbeing for its occupants.
It creates energy efficient homes. It gives a system to design, test and audit the home&rsquo;s performance overall. And I actually think it&rsquo;s going to get some serious traction in Australia as the best way to build or renovate your home.
Overseas, particularly in Europe, it&rsquo;s popular for its ability to create energy efficient, comfortable homes that don&rsquo;t need significant heating and cooling, even in extreme climates (picture snow up to the gutters!)
Here, even though in some areas of Australia - and in the USA for my American listeners - our climates may seem too mild for many to be concerned. However, Passive House offers a huge opportunity to really understand and know before you commit to construction, how your home will feel to live in, and what it will cost to run.
And that is what seriously excites me for you as the homeowner, building or renovating your family home. Imagine being able to predict exactly how your house will perform, how comfortable it will be and what it will cost to heat and cool - BEFORE you build it. And then, having a system and auditing process in place so it gets tested during and after construction, and a certificate provided to show it actually performs as promised.
That&rsquo;s what Passive House enables you to do.
In this episode, I&rsquo;m talking with Daniel Kress, a certified Passive House trainer and consultant. 
In this episode, Daniel and I talk about:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">What is meant by the term &ldquo;Passive House&rdquo; (and do we call it Passive House or Passive Haus or Passivehaus!?)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">How and why did you get so interested in it and choose to pursue not only building and designing this way, but also becoming a trainer in the certification courses?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">What are the benefits of creating a Passive House?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">What are the key components of achieving or creating a Passive House? How do you create one?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">What do you see people get wrong in what they understand about Passive House?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Is it possible to renovate and create a Passive House? Or is this only achievable when building new?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">Is building a Passive Home more expensive?</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;">The certification education you do ... why is it necessary for a homeowner to use a certified Passive House Consultant. What difference does this make? And is the house only a Passive House if it&rsquo;s designed and/or certified by a Certified Consultant?</li>
</ul>
Listen to the episode now.
FOR RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST <a href="https://undercoverarchitect.com/podcast-what-is-passive-house-passivhaus-daniel-kress/">CLICK HERE</a>

If we haven’t met before, I’m Amelia Lee, the architect behind Undercover Architect: an online business to help and teach homeowners like you how to get it right when designing, building and renovating your home.

Undercover Architect is all about giving you access to the industry knowledge and insights you need to avoid the mistakes and dramas that can cost you thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. And it’s about levelling the playing field, so that the world of renovating and building doesn’t seem so mysterious, and you can be the active driver in your project, navigating it with know-how and confidence.

Undercover Architect helps and teaches homeowners through this podcast, the website, and online courses and programs, including my flagship program, HOME Method. I truly believe that when you know the questions to ask, the steps to take and the best way to create a home that works, feels great, and that you feel great in, you can enjoy the process of building and renovating, as well as the home you move into at the end of this ambitious journey.

Consider Undercover Architect your secret ally: whoever you’re working with, and whatever your location, your budget or your dreams. For more, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com

If we haven’t met before, I’m Amelia Lee, the architect behind Undercover Architect: an online business to help and teach homeowners like you how to get it right when designing, building and renovating your home.
Undercover Architect is all about giving you access to the industry knowledge and insights you need to avoid the mistakes and dramas that can cost you thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars. And it’s about levelling the playing field, so that the world of renovating and building doesn’t seem so mysterious, and you can be the active driver in your project, navigating it with know-how and confidence.
Undercover Architect helps and teaches homeowners through this podcast, the website, and online courses and programs, including my flagship program, HOME Method. I truly believe that when you know the questions to ask, the steps to take and the best way to create a home that works, feels great, and that you feel great in, you can enjoy the process of building and renovating, as well as the home you move into at the end of this ambitious journey.
Consider Undercover Architect your secret ally: whoever you’re working with, and whatever your location, your budget or your dreams. For more, head to www.undercoverarchitect.com

Get It Right with Undercover Architect

This episode is an introduction to what Passive House is. As a building system, it involves a range of measures to have your home performing the way it needs to, to be deemed a Passive House.

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