Passive houses - Achievable concepts for low CO2 housing

Most European countries have made large progress in reduction of energy consumption in the housing sector during the last two decades. However, much more can be achieved, as has been shown in Germany and Austria by thousands of Passive Houses. By definition, passive houses do not exceed an energy consumption of 15 kWh per square metre floor area per year for heating purposes. No separate heating system is required. The house can be kept comfortable by adding a small amount of heat to the ventilation air. Thus a saving of 90% can be achieved compared to the amount of heating energy needed for existing housing stock. The price of the houses is as an average only 8% higher compared to traditionally built buildings.
The EU-funded project Promotion of European Passive Houses is focused on spreading knowledge and experi-ence to the European countries, by documentation of passive houses, by showing appropriate technical solutions, by applying calculation methods and by targeted dissemination at conferences, workshops and with the help of a website. The project runs from January 2005 to January 2008