Passivhaus deemed to satisfy UK NZCBS

The Passivhaus standard is now deemed to satisfy certain aspects of the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (UK NZCBS) at practical completion. After working closely with the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, the Passivhaus Trust is delighted to announce that Passivhaus certification is a deemed-to-satisfy route in the upcoming Version 1 of the Standard.

UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard

The UK NZCBS is cross-industry initiative to develop the UK's first Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. Leading industry organisations BBP, BRE, CIBSE, IStructE, LETI, RIBA, RICS, and UKGBC have joined forces to champion this initiative, and its development has been supported by a wide network of hundreds of expert industry volunteers

The Passivhaus Trust has previously stated that the targets and methodology proposed for UK NZCBS closely align with the operational energy and renewable energy generation targets of the Passivhaus Plus standard and include absolute energy use intensity targets similar to Passivhaus. The Trust believes that the Passivhaus Plus standard offers an effective way to achieve the UK NZCBS, while also delivering a healthy, comfortable building.

As part of the new UK NZCBS 'PC On-Track' optional checks at Practical Completion, Passivhaus certification can be used to show that the UK NZCBS space heating requirements have been met, and can be used as a key component of the evidence towards the Standard’s operational energy and onsite renewable energy generation requirements.

We’re delighted that Passivhaus certification is recognised in the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard as a deemed-to-satisfy route at practical completion. The NZCBS sets out whole-life carbon and energy performance criteria to align buildings with the UK’s 1.5°C carbon trajectory, and this milestone enables Passivhaus projects to demonstrate compliance with key elements of those requirements.

Passivhaus is a quality-assured, performance-focused approach underpinned by more than 35 years of peer-reviewed evidence demonstrating deep reductions in operational energy and carbon, alongside high comfort and indoor air quality. This alignment between the established Passivhaus methodology and the NZCBS’s robust performance expectations provides confidence to designers, developers, and occupants that net zero ambitions can be translated into measurable outcomes.

Sarah Lewis, Co-Director, Passivhaus Trust

The deeming to satisfy pathway has been created to align the UK NZCBS with established, market-recognised schemes, reducing the need for duplicate assessments and submissions.

The UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard places focus on measured, in-use building performance within its definition and requirements for Net Zero Carbon Aligned buildings. It follows that the Standard’s principles are aligned with Passivhaus certification, which addresses the performance gap between modelled and in-use energy consumption, amongst its other benefits.

We are delighted that Version 1 of the Standard will recognise Passivhaus certification as being deemed to satisfy certain requirements at Practical Completion. Not only will this reduce the need for duplicate assessments, but we also anticipate that the robust methodology and quality assurance provided through Passivhaus will support project teams in meeting the Standard’s limits.

Katie Clemence-Jackson, CEO, UKNZCBS