Delivering Nearly Zero-Energy Building (NZEB) with Passivhaus
By the 31 December 2020 all new buildings in the EU are required to comply with the ‘nearly-zero energy’ standards defined in the Directive 2010/31/EU. The intention of the European Union’s Directive is essentially to increase the energy efficiency level of buildings. The remaining very low energy demand of the so-called ‘nearly-zero energy’ buildings should then be covered to a large extent by energy from renewable sources, including energy produced on-site or nearby.
A Passivhaus Solution
Jessica Grove-Smith from the Passive House Institute recently gave an interview regarding the delivery of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB’s) with the Passivhaus Standard which has been published in Building4Change magazine.
As a definition for the ‘NZEB standard, the Passive House Institute has put forward the following proposal:
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A nearly zero-energy building is one that offers the best economic performance in terms of investment, energy, and capital costs under local climate conditions. The energy balance comprises overall energy demand for heat, hot water, and all electricity consumption along with renewable energy produced locally. Passive House Institute
Passivhaus buildings achieve thermal comfort solely by post-heating or post-cooling the fresh air flow required for a good indoor air quality without the need for additional recirculation of air. To meet the standard, stringent criteria must be adhered to for the useful energy demand in addition to the overall primary energy of a building.
PHI is creating a new primary energy assessment method (PER) to take into consideration renewable energy & energy storage, which is due to be released with the next version of PHPP. This will result in additional categories to accommodate nearly zero-energy building. In line with the EU Directive for nearly zero energy buildings Passivhaus would provide cost-effective energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy production optimised for the local conditions.
Jessica Grove-Smith is from the Passivhaus Institute in Germany and will be discussing the subject further at the upcoming UK Passivhaus Conference on 16 October, 2014.
Further Information:
Previous PHT story - 30 May 2014
19th September 2014
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