Journal of Building and Construction Engineering ISSN: 3107-8796 (Online)

Author: Sanjana. Rangu

Abstract: Passive buildings are proving to be a solution to menaces of energy crisis and greenhouse gas emissions across the world. Such buildings tend to exhibit low energy demand owing to their cleverly designed envelopes, which comprise of walls, roofs, doors, windows and other openings. This requires use of new materials and technology, leading to an increased initial construction cost. However, with reduced energy consumption, the lifecycle cost of a passive building may be lower than that of a conventional building. These passive buildings also need to cater to occupants’ comfort which is subject to local climatic conditions and climate change. This article discusses economic feasibility and climatic adaptability of a passive building, in addition to advances in passive building strategies. Owing to lack of general awareness and standards related to passive building construction, these buildings have not achieved enough popularity. While many countries are striving hard to bring passive buildings to common masses, a large number of countries are yet to initiate the move. This article outlines several active organizations, standards and rating systems for passive buildings. This article also presents some of the recent research trends and a comprehensive bibliography for the benefit of researchers and practitioners. The term Passive House refers to a performance-based energy standard for high-efficiency buildings. It is clearly defined, with validity for all climates of the world. Under cold climate conditions, the design typically focuses on minimising heat losses and optimising solar gains. In milder climates, moderate insulation, including improved window qualities, is sufficient, but on the other hand, the building performance during summer requires more careful consideration. For hotter climates, the insulation requirements increase again, and solar loads through windows, walls and roofs must be limited. In hot and humid climates, humidity loads are also minimised or reduced. In practical implementation, every Passive House has its own, specific boundary conditions which lead to different constructions and technical solutions to fulfil the stringent requirements of the Passive House standard.

Keywords: Passive House, Thermal Insulation, Ventilation, U-Value, solar gains.