What is a Passive House?

Passive House is not a brand name, but a tried and true construction concept that can be applied by anyone, anywhere. If your vision is to live in a healthy comfortable environment with fresh-air and warm windows, an Eko PassiveHouse is for you.

These compelling facts come from the Passive House Institute website:

  • Passive Houses allow for space heating and cooling related energy savings of up to 90% compared with typical building stock and over 75% compared to average new builds.
  • Passive Houses make efficient use of the sun, internal heat sources and heat recovery, rendering conventional heating systems unnecessary throughout even the coldest of winters. During warmer months, Passive Houses make use of passive cooling techniques such as strategic shading to keep comfortably cool.
  • Passive Houses are praised for the high level of comfort they offer. Internal surface temperatures vary little from indoor air temperatures, even in the face of extreme outdoor temperatures.
  • A ventilation system imperceptibly supplies constant fresh air, making for superior air quality without unpleasant draughts. A highly efficient heat recovery unit allows for the heat contained in the exhaust air to be re-used.

Consider that today you have the chance to be among approximately 50,000 Passive Houses in use worldwide (as of 2012). The Passive House Standard is rapidly spreading around the globe for good reason.

Passive House FAQs

The Canadian Passive House Institute offers an excellent set of answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Passive House design and construction.

For the full list of 20 questions, which range from addressing how a Passive House can be effective in Canada’s cold winters, the need for ventilation systems explained, and addressing builders who don’t understand the economies of adding more insulation to a building, visit the CPHI website:

PassiveHouse Resources

International Passive House Association website
Passive House Institute
Passipedia