Housing rehabilitations with the Passivhaus standard: all the advantages

The Passivhaus standard has become a reference model in the rehabilitation of homes and buildings. The reason? It allows the construction of houses that, thanks to the utilization of bioclimatic architecture, can significantly increase their energy efficiency. Up to 90% more than a conventional property. Next, at Siber Ventilation we will give an example and discuss its characteristics and finally, comment on all its advantages.

Example of rehabilitation with the Passivhaus standard

We will start by talking about how the Passivhouse model was applied in the first house certified with this label in the Community of Madrid (Guadalix de la Sierra). It is a single-family home, whose demand for both cooling and heating is less than 15 kWh/m2 per year.

To achieve this certification, the developer responsible for the construction of the house carried out a design completely free of thermal bridges. In addition, they ensured an enveloping thermal insulation and used triple glazing windows to ensure the maximum possible airtightness. At Siber we collaborate by installing the ventilation system with heat recovery.

Characteristics of the project

The mechanical ventilation system installed under the Passivhaus standard has a series of unique characteristics. For example, thanks to its double flow system, it manages to recover up to 95% of the energy used in the home's climate control system. In fact, it incorporates a cooling and heating battery that adjusts the air based on external conditions.

In addition, the system is responsible for eliminating possible pollutants that may penetrate from the outside. In this way, the air that occupants breathe is completely healthy. All operating parameters can be adjusted via a multi-control remote. This device also alerts when failures occur or when filters need to be cleaned, as well as for selecting manually or automatically the ventilation powers.

Advantages of rehabilitations with the Passivhaus model

At the end of 2021, there were a total of 110 certified passive house projects. Currently there are 114, although we will have to wait until the end of the year to get the official data.

What is clear is that proceeding with the rehabilitation of homes under the Passivhaus standard has countless advantages. Let's take a look at them:

• Quick return on investment. Mainly, because the energy savings obtained is approximately 90% compared to a conventional home.
• Fight against climate change. The very low energy consumption mentioned also means that Passivhaus homes emit very little carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
• Maximum comfort. Both in acoustic and thermal terms. It does not matter the time of day or the season of the year we are in.
• Revaluation. A home rehabilitated under the Passivhaus model can be worth about 20% more, according to various studies conducted in the real estate sector.
• Longer lifespan of materials. Given that it involves an airtight and hermetic envelope that prevents water and air infiltration. This makes it impossible for humidity to occur and, with it, the premature aging of construction materials.

In short, we have already seen how the Passivhaus standard is being applied in the rehabilitation of homes. A model full of advantages among which stands out, above all, the possibility of achieving energy savings of up to 90% compared to any other conventional house. A real achievement. The double flow mechanical ventilation systems with energy recoverers from Siber are key to achieving this level of efficiency and, therefore, environmental sustainability. And if you want to learn more about this method, we invite you to read the article What is the Passivhaus standard?