How to build a Passive House

Renovation Collaborative

How do you build a Passive House?

In this episode you'll find out about the rigorous testing and photographic documentation of evidence that has to happen on site to guarantee that Passive House buildings deliver what they promise.

I talk to very experienced Passive House builder Matthew Carland from Carland Constructions in Melbourne.

Matthew openly shares everything that happens on site. You'll learn why he believes that Passive Houses are actually easier to build than typical homes. Plus heaps of other information to help you better understand Passive House construction.

And let me tell you, if you still aren't convinced about the quality and value of the Passive House standard, in this episode, you'll find out how remarkable it really is.

Australian Architects can claim formal CPD hours for these podcasts.

MORE INFORMATION

Find everything you need on the Renovation Collaborative website.

www.renovationcollaborative.com.au

• PODCAST Key points summary, timestamps and resource links
• FREE RESOURCES Transcript edited into clear Q&A.
• CPD Australian architects can find more information on CPD, and
• COURSES Eleven easy to read courses demystifying the entire home design and construction process.

KEY POINTS SUMMARY

1. Involving the builder during design is critical for keeping the project on budget. PHPP is used to test and find a balance of the best design and product options that meet the Passive House standard. And so when you include the builder's cost advice during PHPP design stages, you can effectively balance performance and cost to get the optimal outcome.

2. Passive House projects are easier to build than typical houses because of the high level of communication and collaboration. A specific outcome (Passive House certification) must be delivered and everyone wants to get it right. It's a shared goal. Everyone involved cares about what they do and works together.

3. The main difference between Passive House construction and typical construction is airtightness. Successful building wrapping is about getting prepared and thinking ahead. Once you understand, it's not that difficult, but there is extra time and cost involved. To wrap a standard house internally, it takes about three or four people an extra week.

4. Passive House certification gives you the unquestionable guarantee that what is designed is built. There is no other method on the market that will do that. There are multiple tests during construction to confirm that everything is built correctly, including blower door testing to confirm the air tightness, thermal imaging to confirm the insulation is installed correctly, and visual inspections and photographic documentation of evidence to confirm the right products and installation methods have been used.

5. To get started as a builder, do the Passive House Trade course. After that, building wrap suppliers will show you how to use their products and all the other information you need is available online. In addition, Matt offers building tours and shares all his secrets on social media so you can find these links in the show notes.

And finally,

6. I'm gathering a complete list of Passive House products and suppliers used by everyone that I talk to through this season to help everyone trying to get started. This list will be available on the Renovation Collaborative website Free Resources page after the final episode of the season and that's episode 11.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

00:00 Introduction

01:04 How did you get into building Passive Houses?

04:20 Is it preferable to involve the builder during the design process?

09:11 What are the main construction processes in a Passive House that are different to typical construction?

13:18 What are the key challenges in making a building airtight?

17:28 How do you prevent other trades damaging or not maintaining the airtight layer during the build process?

19:08 How much extra time does it take to wrap a house?

20:10 What happens in a blower door test?

25:45 Can you tell us about constructing renovations using Enerfit?

30:55 What are the challenges with installing insulation?

32:43 What happens on site for Passive House certification?

35:57 How did you work everything out for your first Passive House build?

38:23 Can you tell me the Passive House products you use?

41:55 Do you have any problems using windows from overseas?

43:12 What types of Passive house problems come up after construction completion?

46:16 What maintenance is required?

IN THE NEXT EPISODE

Next week we move on to the next step in the process:

Know your climate zone.

Passive House design is different in every climate zone. Over the next four episodes, I talk to Passive House designers in the four Australian climate zones where most of our population lives to discover the key design differences.

First up, I cover Passive House design for cool temperate climates like Canberra, Hobart and Launceston. I talk to Michael Tolhurst, the director of the award winning practice Envelope Architecture in Canberra. He shares the specifics of climate design plus heaps of other insights to help you better understand Passive House design.

RESOURCE LINKS

Information

Carland Constructions Instagram www.instagram.com/carlandconstructions/?hl=en

The Mindful Builder Podcast www.instagram.com/themindfulbuilderpod/

Australian Passivhaus Association www.passivhausassociation.com.au/

Products and Materials

Pro Clima www.proclima.com.au

BINQ www.binq.com.au

Logikhaus www.logikhaus.com.au

Zehnder www.fantech.com.au

PassivTech www.passivetech.com.au

GET IN TOUCH

If you've got any comments or questions or there's any topic you'd like to know more about, please send me an email at [e-mail].