Passivhaus learning hub

Learn about airtesting high-rise blocks, choosing MVHR systems for 100+ home developments, and bespoke non-domestic settings. We offer in-depth case studies and topic-focused sessions, led by expert practitioners.

Explore the optimal timing and strategic implementation of air source heat pumps (ASHPs) in retrofit projects. Delve into the implications of ASHP installation at different stages of fabric improvement through modelling typical retrofit scenarios. Gain practical insights using PHPP to estimate energy demand and running costs, ensuring informed decisions in developing efficient retrofit plans.

This series is for anyone interested in designing and delivering Passivhaus retrofit. Learn from expert practitioners to enrich your practical and technical knowledge about EnerPHit, the Passivhaus retrofit standard, and how to apply it to your projects.

As the adoption of Passivhaus continues to grow in the UK, we are watching more sizeable projects emerge with increasing complexities that bring new challenges. This on-demand mini-series covers some exciting, detailed case studies & the latest research on large & complex Passivhaus.

How to Build a Passivhaus: Good Practice Guide covers the essential topics that are key to successfully delivering a Passivhaus project. It reflects the most recent evolution of best practice approaches to designing and building to the Passivhaus and EnerPHit standards.

We often take ventilation for granted; most buildings in the UK rely on draughts and leaks! Continuous fresh air & eliminating cold draughts is a key comfort factor for Passivhaus buildings. Often the steepest learning curve is reaching the airtightness target. Breathe easy with this new good practice guide.

Recent summer heatwaves and a heating climate have made us more aware than ever that the risk of overheating in both new and existing buildings demands attention. The Passivhaus Trust has developed detailed guidance accompanied by a PHPP plugin to address this risk.

Are you getting the most out of your insulation? Passivhaus buildings are renown for eliminating the performance gap and insulation is crucial to the fabric first approach. This guide provides insight into good practice for designing, procuring, storing and installing insulation materials.

A good practice guide to MVHR, written by Dr Mich Swainson, Sally Godber & Andrew Farr, and peer reviewed by Kym Mead, Rupert Kazlauciunas, Nick Grant, Alan Clarke, Alex Baines, Jon Bootland and Mark Siddall.

This short guidance note gives a comprehensive overview of the considerations that must be factored in when designing and specifying an air-to-water heat pump system.

This paper introduces the challenges around moisture risk to borne in mind when tackling any retrofit project, and is essential reading for designers, as well as clients who are looking to inform themselves of the key issues and factors that will influence the project.

This document provides comprehensive guidance on the maintenance and management of individual Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) units in multi-residential developments.

This document provides guidance for the industry on how to produce effective User Guidance aimed at non-expert occupants for Passivhaus and low energy buildings

PHT costs & benefits guidance shows that innovation costs associated with early Passivhaus projects are now reducing as the methodology has become more widely adopted. Costs are expected to fall further once the Standard is adopted at scale.

Each of the key chapters in Passivhaus Benefits is underpinned by detailed supplementary research, to be published in three supporting papers. The first of these, Health, Wellbeing and People Performance, is available to download now.

To obtain a clearer picture of Passivhaus costs in the UK, AECOM, in conjunction with the Passivhaus Trust, has undertaken a research study into the capital cost of building to certified Passivhaus standards across a number of affordable housing projects in the UK, using a standardised cost tool to compare projects on a like for like basis.

The integration of a steel frame for Passivhaus brings unique challenges. This paper draws on knowledge gained from the first steel frame Passivhaus projects in the UK to offer applied guidance and a best practice approach to high performance and Passivhaus steel buildings.

Discover how to minimise thermal bypass risks during design and construction in this detailed technical review.

The Passivhaus community is increasingly acknowledging and focusing on the issue of material choices and resource efficiency, demonstrated by the development of several carbon counting tools, including the embodied carbon PHribbon plug-in for PHPP.

The need for this Quality Assurance guide has arisen from the rapid growth of the Passivhaus Standard within the UK and the recognition that with the increased volume, scale and complexity of building projects, that it takes an increasingly well structured quality assurance system to maintain the required standards of design and construction.

The Passivhaus Trust has been working with Rachel Mitchell, Bath University and WARM to analyse the performance of a number of certified Passivhaus dwellings in the UK.

This document with ATTMA provides the technical standard to be followed for the air tightness testing of Passivhaus and other low energy buildings as required as part of a Passivhaus or low energy building design.

The Passivhaus Trust has developed guidance accompanied by a PHPP plugin to calculate more representative monthly average internal temperatures for existing buildings and an overall average for the heating season. These temperatures can then be used in the PHPP heating demand calculation to achieve a more accurate indication of energy demand.

The Passivhaus Trust has previously published detailed guidance on Passivhaus and zero carbon and Passivhaus and retrofit. These four-page primers will give you a quick but comprehensive overview of the issues covered.

This series is for anyone interested in designing and delivering Passivhaus retrofit. Learn from expert practitioners to enrich your practical and technical knowledge about EnerPHit, the Passivhaus retrofit standard, and how to apply it to your projects.

Learn about moisture-safe design in retrofitting with the 2023 Moisture and EnerPHit Guide. This on-demand course delves into the complexities of retrofitting for energy efficiency while addressing moisture concerns in the building fabric and structure. Understand how to prevent moisture issues when retrofitting. Don’t miss insights from expert authors and expand your knowledge of retrofit moisture management for safer, healthier buildings.

This paper sets out why EnerPHit must form an essential part of our national Zero Carbon ambitions and advises how to develop an appropriate retrofit plan comparing different standards and guidance.

Discover the similarities between EnerPHit and PAS 2035/2030 and how the two standards complement one another in this new technical paper authored by PHT member QODA’s Dr Sarah Price.

This paper introduces the challenges around moisture risk to borne in mind when tackling any retrofit project, and is essential reading for designers, as well as clients who are looking to inform themselves of the key issues and factors that will influence the project.

There is an urgent imperative to decarbonise home heating, but we also need better housing that is more comfortable, healthier and cheaper to run. How do we enable heat pumps and fabric to work in synergy to maximum effect? This paper aims to answer the question by modelling heat pump installation at different levels of home retrofit.

A widely adopted rule-of-thumb suggests that MVHR systems are only effective in more airtight buildings. This paper seeks to challenge this convention and suggests that MVHR systems are, in fact, desirable in nearly all domestic situations, either new-build or retrofit.

The Passivhaus community is increasingly acknowledging and focusing on the issue of material choices and resource efficiency, demonstrated by the development of several carbon counting tools, including the embodied carbon PHribbon plug-in for PHPP.

This paper sets out why EnerPHit must form an essential part of our national Zero Carbon ambitions and advises how to develop an appropriate retrofit plan comparing different standards and guidance.

How do we ensure Zero Carbon targets result in zero emission buildings? Many cities and regions are moving towards a Zero Carbon goal for new housing to achieve genuine emissions reductions. This paper analyses the definition of a Zero carbon building, and compares a notional building regulations Zero Carbon building with a Passivhaus Classic and renewables .

This paper provides guidance on quality assurance measures that are required to meet the Passivhaus Standard in the UK.

Discover the similarities between EnerPHit and PAS 2035/2030 and how the two standards complement one another in this new technical paper authored by PHT member QODA’s Dr Sarah Price.

This position paper responds to the report ‘Ready for Zero: Evidence to inform the 2025 Future Homes Standard – Task Group Report’ by the Future Homes Hub. It addresses modelling inacurracies and puts forward four key recommendations for consideration.

PHPP is a proven tool for assessing overheating risk. It has already been deemed to satisfy Part O of the Building Regulations (England & Wales) by several Building Control services, and should be accepted as an alternative means of compliance in place of the ‘simplified method’ and the ‘dynamic method’ for single-family dwellings and simple building forms.

Modelling undertaken by the Passivhaus Trust demonstrates that an all-electric certified Passivhaus Classic performs better than both options proposed for the Future Homes Standard (FHS) in the 2024 consultation, as well as providing many other benefits.

There is an urgent imperative to decarbonise home heating, but we also need better housing that is more comfortable, healthier and cheaper to run. How do we enable heat pumps and fabric to work in synergy to maximum effect? This paper aims to answer the question by modelling heat pump installation at different levels of home retrofit.

For multi-residential or non-residential buildings the Passivhaus Certifier may require dynamic thermal modelling to adequately evaluate summer comfort and overheating risk. This guidance from the UK Certifiers’ Circle aims to establish a common approach to modelling, reporting and user handover in these scenarios.

This paper serves as a starting point for discussions and agreements between project teams and certification bodies regarding roles, responsibilities, and expectations for achieving Passivhaus certification. The scope of services it presents is designed to be adaptable and applicable to various project types and scales.

This guidance note from the UK Certifiers’ Circle provides answers to frequently asked questions about what PER is, how it relates to other metrics used in the UK, under what circumstances a bespoke PER criterion might apply, and how to check if it does.