Affordability
Passive Houses not only save money over the long term, especially in light of rising energy costs, but are surprisingly affordable to begin with.
Passive Houses do not require heating and cooling systems on conventional scales, meaning that the money that would have gone towards larger heating and cooling systems can be spent instead on better windows, thicker insulation and a ventilation system – hallmarks of Passive House design. Add to this the long-term energy savings Passive Houses bring and it becomes clear that Passive Houses are a good investment. Especially in the face of dwindling energy resources and rising energy costs, the Passive House Standard demonstrates sustainable affordability.
Even so, Passive Houses do cost more upfront than their conventional counterparts. On average, someone building a Passive House in Germany might expect to spend anywhere from 3 to 8% more, and this cost differential is likely more in countries where Passive House components are not yet readily available. As the number of Passive House suitable components on the market increases, however, prices in these other countries will drop. Financial support for Passive Houses, as currently available in a number of countries, further reduces their cost. In this light then, building a Passive House nowadays is even more affordable over the long term than building a conventional home.
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Investing in energy efficiency
Example of incentive programmes for retrofits: the KfW in Germany
Economy and financing of efficiency: new buildings, renovation and step by step retrofit
Economic feasibility of Passive House design
Life cycle cost analysis of energy interventions in 18 reference buildings
Economic analysis for the retrofit of a detached single family house to the EnerPHit standard
Affiliate literature on cost-effectiveness of Passive House in other countries/regions