Why all the questions about the Passivhaus standard?
jklingel
| Posted in PassivHaus on
I likely missed something, but am wondering why there seems to be a lot of discussion about whether or not PH standards are too strict, arbitrary, etc. Who cares? Is there an incentive for homeowners, like rebates or something, if they have a house built to the PH standards? Do builders get some kind of tickle, or are some places mandating that new houses meet the standards? The standards and goals of PH are admirable, if not perhaps a tad hard to reach, so why not shoot for the standards and not worry about meeting them? I’m just curious.
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John,
I would say it has a lot to do with bragging rights, for better and/or worse. You can tell people, "yeah this house is really efficient" but people have to guess what that means exactly. If you say "certified Passivhaus" then there's a benchmark that's understandable and carries some cache. There are way too many magazine articles in Dwell, etc. where people claim that their projects are "green" (or worse, "sustainable") without much attempt to explain how they achieve this. Without metrics, where is the threshold of greenness? When you say Passivhaus, the metrics are well understood, and there's nothing more to explain.
John,
You're right, of course, that the Passivhaus standard is entirely voluntary. As long as homeowners know what they are buying, it's perfectly all right for them to choose to build to the standard. (However, it's worth noting that in several parts of Europe, government authorities are discussing the goal of making the Passivhaus standard mandatory for new construction.)
The Passivhaus standard is creating a lot of buzz right now, and many architects and builders are excited about it. Some of us who follow superinsulation trends have noted that the Passivhaus movement has been marred by exaggerations and false statements. I think that clarifying the technical issues behind these exaggerations and false statements is useful, because it can improve the accuracy of builders' claims and can help homeowners make wise decisions.
Martin: Good points. I am all for striving to meet their goals. I am not in favor of gov't mandates, but then something has to be done on a multitude of issues if Earth is going to survive us.