#8 PassiveHaus Design - Simon Ott

The PassiveHaus design is an approach to building that attempts to extremely minimize energy costs for a building.  The techniques can by used for both residential and commercial buildings and where as it doesn't necessarily create the design of the structure itself it certainly influences important aspects of it.

“A Passivhaus is a building, for which thermal comfort can be achieved solely by post-heating or post-cooling of the fresh air mass, which is required to achieve sufficient indoor air quality conditions – without the need for additional recirculation of air.”  

The result is a home that can have a heated towel rack listed as its source of heating.  Thought the use of super insulation and passive heating and cooling designs the home can boast low energy costs and high indoor air quality.  These design implementations can be expensive now but not only do they typically pay for themselves over time but through increased use and demand they can become less expensive in the future as they become standardized practices.

Admittedly this building type and style isn't for everyone or everywhere but the principles involved in its creation can be learned and borrowed from and adapted to any design and structure.  These essential techniques have been used in some form for centuries until we created central heat and air-conditioning then we managed to forget how to use them in only a few generations.  I think its time to update them for the new century and incorporate these designs into every structure moving forward and I think PassiveHaus design is providing a good place to start and grow from.