Home Building and Rehabilitation Abeiro
Passivhaus
According to the European guideline 2010/31/EU, the construction of nearly zero energy buildings, also called NZEB (Near Zero Energy Building), will be mandatory from the year 2020. This guideline responds to the need to build in a sustainable manner in order to generate a lower impact on the environment. Building is evolving towards a lower use of energy resources and towards sustainability.
In order to measure the characteristics with which these buildings are being built, there are a series of certificates that serve to accredit these construction characteristics, such as Breeam, Leed, Well or Passivhaus.
What is the Passivhaus standard?
The Passivhaus standard consists of reducing to the maximum the energy consumption of a house using the principles of the bioclimatic architecture, and obtaining through renewable energies when it is possible the little necessary energy to heat and to cool a house, although in case of maximum optimization a house with a null energy demand could be constructed.
The passive construction or Passivhaus is based on some design criteria that allow the use of the energy and the natural light during the winter and the minimization of the solar incidence during the summer.
Which are the basic principles of the passive construction or Passivhaus?
Thermal insulation: floors, walls and roof, the housing envelope, must be properly insulated to avoid energy loss in winter and energy gain in summer. At Abeiro we know that the quality of the insulation to be used is very important to achieve a correct insulation of the house.
Airtightness: the joints of the house must be perfectly executed to avoid air leaks both inside and outside the house, thus favouring the absence of energy loss or gain.
Windows and doors: these are the critical points of the house’s envelope and it is therefore necessary to select the materials with which they are built and take care of the execution of their installation at the same time to ensure that they have a high thermal performance.
Thermal bridges: great attention must be paid to the joints and structural elements to ensure the continuity of the thermal envelope and thus eliminate thermal bridges, which harm the energy efficiency of the building elements and increase the risk of condensation.
Ventilation: it is key to provide the house with a double-flow ventilation system with heat recovery to ensure proper ventilation and improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality. The heat recovery system exchanges the clean air that enters from the outside with the air that is extracted from the inside, recovering 95% of the heat expelled. The air that enters the house does so at a temperature very similar to the indoor temperature.
What are the benefits of passive construction or Passivhaus?
Passive construction provides the following benefits:
Economic: Passive house construction generates a lower energy demand and therefore a clear economic saving. This type of housing will tend to maintain a higher market value than others that are not sustainable or efficient in energy use.
Environmental: the lower use of energy resources has a direct impact on the environment since fewer polluting gases are emitted into the atmosphere.
Health: the quality of the air breathed inside a home is improved, as well as creating much greater thermal and acoustic comfort than in a traditional home.
Passivhaus was developed in Germany at the end of the 80’s, the first passive house was built in 1990 and finally the Passivhaus Institute was created in 1996.
The Abeiro team has the necessary preparation and certification to build passive houses or Passivhaus and low energy houses with a unique and personalized design in Galicia. We use the appropriate construction methods and materials to guarantee the insulation, electricity savings, almost zero consumption of heating, natural lighting and air circulation necessary to meet the standards of this type of construction.
Build better, live better.
