Keeping Cool: avoiding overheating risks
As our climate warms, minimising the risks of overheating in new and existing buildings must be addressed. As a comfort-driven approach, the Passivhaus standard includes an overheating criterion that internal temperatures do not exceed 25ºC for more than 10% of the year, and best practice is a maximum of 0-2%.
The stress testing element of the Trust’s overheating PHPP plug-in has been integrated into the new iteration of PHPP10. If you are a PHPP9 user, the stress testing feature is still included in our freely available plug-in. Other features of our plug-in including the detailed risk log and overheating heating key indicators designed for use with PHPP9, can now be run with PHPP10, by downloading our free PHPP10 compatible plug-in. Our detailed guidance, covers design strategies to reduce risk, key indicators of the likelihood of risk, and a series of stress tests that apply to all users.
The Keeping Cool: avoiding overheating risks short-course is now available on-demand! The course opens with a short introduction to the new overheating stress test in PHPP10 (see above) assisting designers to ensure summer comfort in their buildings. The first module introduces our technical overheating guidance, with a second module covering how to use our plug-in.
PHI Credit Renewal Points available: Delegates will earn 1 PHI credit point towards renewal of their Certified Passivhaus Designer / Consultant qualification. See here.
Cost: Free to access.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this module you will be able to understand:
- The impact of a warming climate on the overheating of buildings.
- The concept of the overheating balance and how it is similar to the heating balance.
- How losses and gains can contribute to the overheating of buildings.
- Factors that are specific to Passivhaus buildings and can contribute to overheating.
- The need for realistic assessments of summer overheating risk.
- The importance of having sufficient “headroom” or margin for safety.
- How effective design strategies should be considered alongside limitations and constraints.
- Key indicators can reveal potential overheating risks within a building design.
- How to apply stress tests to demonstrate the robustness of a design for overheating.
- The use of the Overheating Tool, for assessing and mitigating overheating issues.
Additional resources:
Avoiding summer overheating - guidelines for summer comfort in PH buildings
Download the PHPP plugin:
