What is a ‘Passive House’?

A Passive House is designed, constructed and independently certified to meet a building standard that is truly energy efficient, comfortable and ecological.

It is based on 5 key principles:

• Quality insulation layer around the entire building

• No thermal bridging i.e. breaks in the insulation layer

• Well-orientated houses with exceptional quality windows and doors

• Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery

• Airtight construction to reduce unintended leakage and to control heat loss

It must also meet the following criteria:

• Maximum annual space heating requirement of 15kWh per square metre per year

• Minimum airtightness of 0.6 air changes per hour measured at a pressure of 50 Pascal: 0.6 1/h.

• Maximum primary energy requirement of 120kWh per square metre per year.

What are the benefits of a passive house?

As a  future-proofed home, there are many benefits of a Passive Housing for the occupants and indeed for the wider environment, namely: 

• Certified design and construction, ensuring quality that exceeds the current Building Regulations

• Whole house comfort for occupants all year around 

• Enhanced health benefits through superior indoor air quality 

• Cost savings achieved through energy efficiency

• Reduced environmental impact through design efficiencies

• Peaceful living as the house is insulated from outdoor noise

Do I still need a heating system?

A heating system is used to support the Passive House technologies for occasional heating input and for domestic hot water, however, these homes require much smaller heating systems that are used less frequently. The houses at Radharc na Chaolaíre benefit from an efficient air-to-water heat pump to provide this heating.

Do passive homes meet Irish building regulations?

Without exception, Passive Houses are subject to all the same Irish building regulations as other houses and must meet or exceed all of these regulations. In reality, Passive Houses exceed the Irish building regulations in terms of energy efficiency, internal surface temperatures, window and door specifications, limits on unintended leakage through constructional inaccuracies, and in a number of other areas.

In addition to being Passive House Certified, the houses at Radharc na Chaolaíre will be certified as meeting the Building Regulations through the BCAR process, part of the Building Control Acts which are regulated by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Are the windows in passive houses different?

Certified Passive House windows are of an exceptionally high quality that meet standards and testing that exceed current standards. In fact, these high-quality windows are one of the five key principles in Passive House design.

The windows and doors in the houses at Radharc na Chaolaíre will be supplied by Internorm, a leading manufacturer of Passive Windows. All Internorm windows are manufactured in Austria to exacting standards.

Can I open my window in a passive house?

This is a commonly misunderstood feature of Passive Houses, certainly, windows can be opened to take full advantage of the fresh Atlantic ocean breeze. 

All of the rooms in the houses at Radharc na Chaolaíre will have openable windows that can be enjoyed in the summer months. One of the advantages of a Passive House is that when temperatures are low outside, the mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system provides fresh air throughout the house without bringing in cold air, thus retaining up to 89 percent of the heat already in the house. This results in year-round comfortable temperatures, high air quality and lower energy bills.

Are passive houses built to last?

Passive Houses are built to last and are the most future-proofed homes available as they exceed the current building regulations. The high specifications used in Passive

Houses for windows, doors, insulation and other fixtures will not be used in standard house construction for many years. The first Passive Houses, built 25 years ago, still meet the Irish Building Regulations today.