Trend - Passive Houses

Trend - Passive Houses

As climate change accelerates, people are more and more aware of the impact they have on the planet. From a sustainable development perspective, many have shown an interest in passive houses, which make it possible to minimize energy consumption. Here’s an overview of the subject!

 

What is a passive house?

In brief, a passive house requires a minimum of energy to provide a comfortable environment for its occupants, whatever the season. To be passive, a construction must allow the sun rays to warm up surfaces such as walls and floors and thus reduce our heating needs during the cold season. The orientation of the house (and its windows), the way it is insulated and its waterproofness also have a big role to play in energy consumption, both in terms of heating and air conditioning. Passive houses must therefore be hyper-insulated, hyper-waterproof and have triple sealed glass windows. On top of it all, installing a ventilation system with heat recovery is essential.

 

Are there standards for a house to be certified passive?

 

PAssive

 

Yes. There are certifications to guide builders in the realization of a passive house. One of them, represented in Canada by the CanPHI Institute, is the German Passivhaus certification. This certification aims to reduce energy consumption by 90% and reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings.

To obtain a Passive House certification, a construction must meet certain criteria. See the website for more information: https://www.passivehousecanada.com

 

The Importance of Doors

 

NHP

 

We can take all the necessary measures to meet the standards of a passive house, but if we do not choose the right doors, our efforts will be worthless. With this in mind, we’ve decided to create our NHP (Novatech High Performance) door system. These steel doors offer a significantly higher energy performance.

 

Passive house

 

We’ve had the chance to collaborate with MÉLYMAX and NZP FENESTRATION on a passive house project in Vermont. The owner welcomed the arrival of this new door, which finally offers a North American solution adapted to our needs. This owner, who’s had other passive houses, was very impressed with the quality and performance of the product. During our visit, the family was really excited to move into their new home!

Emmanuel Cosgrove, director at Écohabitation, was also pleased with the arrival of this door on the North American market.

“This door seems to be inspired by the range of products designed for homes that meet Passive House building standards. Until now, these have been made by European manufacturers. I am really happy to see this kind of product develop in Quebec. For high-performance home builders, this will really add value from the first visit of a potential buyer. First impressions always count, and a door that seals and insulates well is exactly what we're looking for. This is quality work ... ".

In fact, in one of their blogs, Ecohabitation declared our NHP door product of the month! Over here to read the article.

  

Passive

 

The advantages of a passive house

• Energy saving.

• Lower heating costs.

• Increased comfort: given the temperature which is stable at all times, there are no breeze.

• Air quality is improved: it is continuously renewed and filtered thanks to the central ventilation system with heat recovery.

• Increased luminosity thanks to the well oriented windows.