Passive house to stake claim at Paris climate talks

Whether global climate objectives are met or not largely depends on the building sector. Over a third of the total energy consumption worldwide is used to operate buildings. At the same time, tried and proven solutions with which this consumption can be reduced to about ten percent already exist. How this works will be shown by experts of the International Passive House Association this Wednesday at the COP21 in Paris.

"Renewable energy is absolutely essential for climate protection, but better efficiency offers even greater potential", says Dr. Wolfgang Feist, Director of the Passive House Institute. Feist built the world's first Passive House almost 25 years ago. Still today, this terraced house in Darmstadt (Germany) consumes about 90 percent less energy than conventional buildings. And countless other examples have confirmed the reliability of these savings: there are now tens of thousands of Passive House buildings throughout the world.
   
The fundamental principle behind the Passive House Standard is simple: heat losses are consistently avoided in order to reduce energy consumption and thus C0¬2 emissions – the principle works in reverse in the hot summer and in warm climate zones. Due to the high quality building envelope, the indoor temperature remains constant in a natural manner. A ventilation system with energy recovery simultaneously provides optimal air quality.
 
How the Passive House Standard contributes to meeting global climate objectives will be shown in detail by the International Passive House Association (iPHA) in the conference area "La Galerie" at the COP21 in Paris. Among other things, exemplary solutions for new builds and retrofits from different parts of the world will be presented in a lecture session on 2 December from 16:30 to 17:15. Energy efficient construction will also be a key topic at the COP21 in Paris on "Buildings Day" on 3 December. In this context, a "Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction" is planned to be launched.