Well, there are a few good things coming out of the pandemic. One being that all major events are going virtual this year. I am very excited to attend the International Passive House Conference in Germany.
And I can watch presentations while doing house work ?
While a lot of the presentations are quite technical and more for the tech nerds out there. The presentation from Raquel Marcos Lólly impressed me.
She was talking about their Passive House Plus project in Valencia.
As you might know. The passive house standard is a way to design and build highly energy efficient, healthy and comfortable homes. The houses perform phenomenally.
What she has proven, is that a passive house that is managed optimally by its users can perform even better.
In Valencia they build 2 identical town houses. Both Passive House Plus. They installed sensors in each of the homes to track their performance.
One of the houses is occupied by a passive house designer. Which means that the occupants make the most out of the outdoor environment.
Therefore, in summer they make sure the external shading is in place. While in winter, they make sure the shading is out of the way, warming up the house.
Those simple things have meant that they house performs about 50% better in summer. And 50% better in winter than the expected passive house performance.
And again, the passive house performance is already amazing. The second house still performs as per the passive house calculations. Which is a superb result. And what is to be expected.
But the other house needs about 50% less heating in winter and about 50% less cooling in summer.
How amazing is this????
Can’t wait to live in my own passive house and test this out.
Would you actively regulate your shading devices? Or would you rather have it set and forget?
This link shows the house in Valencia
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_5OmKsq_u6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link