Passive House
Execution of your vision
What is a Passive House?
Passive House is the highest standard and quality of a building that can be achieved. It focuses on building a highly efficient, healthy home that can save up to 90% on heating and cooling demands when compared to a standard home. Think of a passive house as an energy-saving superhero. It stealthily minimises energy consumption, slashing your carbon footprint and energy bills without compromising your comfort. Just like a ninja, it works quietly and efficiently in the background, keeping your energy usage low.
Building a Passive House is not rocket science; it’s just building science. There is a lot of discussion about how a home should be designed and built. The crazy thing is, we have the answer on how this should be done and what criteria we need to follow.
It’s a home where on a cold winter’s day, you can walk around in shorts without even having to put your heater on and be very comfortable. Progressive Building, a Passive House Builder based in Sydney's Northern Beaches, looks to optimise the performance of every home. We work with a number of Passive House architects who believe in sustainable construction methods.
Key Benefits
Health
Passive Homes deliver filtered, purified air through well-circulated ventilation systems, remove harmful pollutants, and ensure a steady flow of fresh air inside.
With meticulous design, Passive House construction prevents moisture issues, keeping dangerous mould and
mildew at bay.
Comfort
Comfort is what makes a house feel like a home. A Passive House is specifically designed to provide thermal comfort by maintaining consistent room and
surface temperatures.
No matter the weather outside, the temperature of your home will remain regulated.
Peace and Quiet
Living in a Passive House fosters a deep sense of calmness, security, and contentment.
Proper insulation sound proofs the home to reduce noise and outside disturbances.
This tranquil environment improves your emotional well-being and quality of life.
Dust Free
A dust free home creates a healthier environment where you can breathe easily, and reduce allergies.
With less dust settling on surfaces, Passive Houses are low maintenance homes and are easier to keep clean.
Keep The Critters Out
Who wants creepy crawlies infiltrating their home? These creatures should remain outside in their natural habitat.
The airtight design of a Passive House acts as a barrier to keep out unwanted insects, rodents and pests.
Weather Resistant
A Passive House, with its robust construction, offers exceptional weather resistance. This means you can confidently weather storms, extreme temperatures, and harsh conditions while staying comfortably protected inside. Your home becomes a reliable shelter, enhancing your peace of mind.
Sustainable
A Passive House embodies sustainability by significantly reducing energy consumption. This benefits the environment and lowers utility costs, saving you money in the long run. It’s an eco-conscious choice supporting a greener future and financial well-being.
Proven Performance
Passive house isn’t just a trend, these homes have been designed through extensive research since 1988. The definitive criteria for a Passive House are set by the Passive House Institute under the direction of Dr Wolfgang Feist, who built the first-ever passive home.
Energy Efficient
The cost of living is increasing, and so are our power bills. A Passive House can reduce your energy bills by barely using heating or cooling. Your home stays at a constant temperature all year round, and with the inclusion of solar panels, you can achieve the highest standard of energy efficiency.
Build as a Team
Collaboration is a must. Building a passive home is a great achievement, but it's not a journey you want to be taking alone. Working with a certified Passive House builder is essential to achieve high quality results. We commit to collaborating with your certified Passive Haus architect to ensure your house becomes a forever home.
Future Proof
Building to a passive standard is a long-term investment not only for the structural integrity of your home, but for the health of our environment. A Passive House is built to last, continuing to perform well into the future. These homes produce less carbon emissions than regular homes, reducing your carbon footprint, and slowing the rate of climate change.
What are Passive House principles?
Each Passive house in Sydney is unique based on a number of factors, site conditions, etc, and can be achieved with intelligent design and implementation of the key passive house principles. These include:
Air tightness - we must achieve under .60ACH - this is how we stop all those draughts and cold breezes coming through the home.
Mechanical Ventilation - because the home is airtight, we need to remove any old dirty air and replace it with clean, fresh air.
Insulation - we all know what this does; it provides resistance to heat, so we aim to get the correct amount of insulation installed correctly into your sustainable home.
Thermal bridge free - this can be a tricky one to grasp but it's quite simple, having no metal or concrete that transfers from outside to inside through design or using the right insulation to thermally break it. We want to stop that heat transfer in or out of a home!
Quality Windows and Doors - why? because a window is the least performing part of a wall, and we want that window to prevent any heat or air loss! Don’t worry; you can still open your windows!