Off to Munich for the International Passivhaus Conference

We have to rebuild our cities to use less energy and house more people, and Passivhaus design is a useful tool for both problems.

The Passive House (Passivhaus) will be discussed
at an international conference in Munich.

Starting on Friday, the leaders of the Passive House movement around the world are meeting in Munich for the International Passive House conference. Passive House, or Passivhaus, is probably the toughest energy efficiency standard anywhere; houses that meet the standard have super insulation, minimal thermal bridging, high quality windows and controlled ventilation. They are comfortable to live in and cost almost nothing to heat and cool.

I am a huge fan of Passive House, and am attending the conference in Munich, but I am increasingly convinced that it simply isn't enough anymore. Because what is really driving our energy consumption these days is transportation, where we are going backwards. It's sprawl, and it's the form of our housing. It is how we get between our houses and where we work or shop. Passivhaus can be applied to any kind of building, but expensive single family designs out in the country are not going to move the needle on our problems.

Read the TreeHugger story by Lloyd Alter - “Off to Munich for the International Passivhaus Conference.”