Simply using Passive House components does not necessarily yield a Passive House
A Passive House is far more than the sum of its parts: precise planning is required in order to ensure that the components used work together to achieve the desired result. The Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) is the key design tool used when planning a Passive House and as such, serves as the basis of verification for the Passive House Standard. While there are other design tools on the market, it is the the PHPP‘s high level of accuracy that sets it apart: energy balances can be calculated with the PHPP to an accuracy of +/- 0.5kWh!
Based for the large part on European norms, the PHPP makes use of numerous tested and approved calculations to yield a building’s the heating, cooling and primary energy demand, as well as its tendency to overheat in the warmer months. While the PHPP was developed specifically for Passive Houses, it is a design tool that may also be used for other buildings, including retrofits of historical buildings.
English PHPP Update
The English PHPP Version 1.2, the update to Version 1.1, is now available for purchase! Registered PHPP users will receive an email notification outlining how to purchase the update for a nominal fee of 30 EUR. New PHPP buyers will soon be able to buy the version 1.2 for 130 EUR. The manual, completed in April 2010, will remain the same. How do I register for updates?
The new English version of PHPP2007 includes:
- An extra English XL PHPP with extended u-value, window, shading and summer shading sheet for large-scale Passive House projects.
- General improvements to the PHPP compact unit sheet have been made
- Updated lists of certified Passive House products and building components are provided in various PHPP sheets
- Overheating is shown when higher ventilation rates are entered in the PHPP summer sheet
- A sub-soil heat exchanger section has been included for the PHPP monthly method, cooling and summer sheets
- Methods for windows with different g-values and different shading situations have been added to the PHPP Shading sheet
- The electricity primary energy factor has been changed from 2.7 to 2.6 due to the higher fraction of renewable energies in the PHPP Primary energy sheet
The PHPP is available for purchase under the PHPP section of the Passive House Institute website, where you can register as a PHPP user to receive PHPP updates. To run PHPP, Microsoft Excel 2000 for Windows or higher is required.
