The Window as a “Solar Panel”: Light Transmittance & Solar Factor G
With this article, we cover two very important aspects of glazings: light transmission and the solar heat gain coefficient. These parameters are extremely important for performing buildings and passive houses, however they are often overlooked by both designers and window…
Thermal Transmittance U vs Th. Resistance R
To achieve thermal comfort and energy efficiency in buildings, a primary role is played by the thermal envelope: this is required to thermally decouple the indoor environment from the ever-changing external conditions, both in summer and in winter. The structures…
What’s an insulation material?
With more and more people talking about building energy efficiency and passive houses, it has become more and more common to hear about insulation. In this article, we explain what an insulation material is, to try and shed some light……
Certified construction system for Passive Houses
The construction system certification is possibly the least known certification offered by the Passivhaus Institut, and yet it can help spreading passive buildings all over the world. We worked on the first system certification for passive houses in a warm…
Airtightness: why is it so important?
With this article, we address one of the most important topics in the field of energy efficiency: the airtightness of the thermal envelope. Whether the building is a new construction or a renovation, its airtightness plays an important role for…
Thermal bridges: the PSI value
For new builds as well as energy retrofits, worldwide the construction industry is shifting more and more towards zero energy buildings and Passive Houses. With the thermal envelope becoming more and more advanced, the correct evaluation of thermal bridges becomes…
The compactness ratio or Form Factor of a building
When addressing the energy efficiency of a building, one of the most important players in the game is the compactness of its thermal envelope. Is there a way to measure the compactness of a building? Yes: it’s the compactness ratio.
DesignPH: the SketchUp plug-in to design Passive Houses in 3D
We finally had the chance to test DesignPH, the SketchUp plug-in that allows you to carry out the preliminary design of passive buildings in 3D. Once the model is created, you can export the data to PHPP (the energy balance…
What is the ‘thermal envelope’ of a building?
In our articles about building energy efficiency, we often use the term 'thermal envelope': let's define what we mean by that.