Claiming the Passivhaus Standard
Our new market guidance is released on 22nd April
Now is the time to check and be confident that your Passivhaus Standard project can make these claims. Get clarification about terminology, the requirements of the Standard, the risks of misrepresentation by reading the new guidelines from the Australian Passivhaus Association called Claiming the Passivhaus Standard.
Protecting what we’re recognised for
The Passivhaus Standard is a Quality Assurance and Building Performance Standard that provides superior health, comfort and low energy benefits for Australians. We’ve issued guidance to protect consumers from false claims that the Passivhaus Standard has been met. We advocate for independent third party Passivhaus Certification.
When can a building claim to be a Passivhaus Standard building?
A project cannot claim the Passivhaus Standard unless its met the performance and quality assurance criteria of the Passivhaus Standard. In Australia, we refer to Passive House as Passivhaus. Consistent use of these terms is a good indicator.
It time to ensure you’re using terminology correctly, check a clear list of requirements and make certain you’re not misrepresenting the Passivhaus Standard, and know the risks. Read “Claiming the Passivhaus Standard” for complete information.
❌ Building claims to be built to “Passivhaus principles”. These do not exist, only the Passivhaus Standard
❌ It is unclear whether the building is a certified Passivhaus Standard building. A building has either met the performance and quality assurance requirements of the Passivhaus Standard or not
❌ The word ‘Passivhaus’ is being used when the Standard is not met. It an only be a Passivhaus Standard building if requirements have been met. Note: If it is still in progress, a project can be said to be ‘targeting Passivhaus certification’
✔️ Independent Passivhaus Certification has been undertaken
✔️ The building has met performance and quality assurance requirements of the Passivhaus Standard and the professionals have the documentation to prove it
✔️ The project is referred to as being certified to the Passivhaus Standard or having met requirements of the Passivhaus Standard
A Quality Assurance and Energy Performance Standard
Quality Assurance
A building should not be described as meeting the Passivhaus Standard unless it has been modelled in the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) and meets all the requirements of the Passivhaus Standard, including onsite verification methods.
There are 14 quality assurance requirements of a building seeking to claim the Passivhaus Standard, detailed in the document.
Energy Performance
The 5 energy performance requirements of a building seeking to claim the Passivhaus Standard:
Specific heating demand : ≤ 15 kWh/m2.yr
Specific heating load : ≤ 10 W/m2
Specific cooling demand : ≤ 15 kWh/m2.yr
Entire Specific Primary Energy Renewable (PER) demand : ≤ 60 kWh/m2.yr
Airtightness : n50 ≤ 0.6/h @50pa
Claiming the Passivhaus Standard will be released here on 22nd April
