The Passive House is the world‘s leading standard in energy efficient design. It started out as a construction concept for residential buildings in Central Europe. Today, the Passive House Standard can be implemented in all types of buildings almost anywhere in the world. The demand for Passive Houses as well as information on and experience with Passive Houses has been increasing at an enormous pace, reflecting the trend-setting developments in this field.

The following pages provide an introduction to the Passive House concept and an overview of the basic principles relating to the leading energy efficiency standard.

The five basic principles	The Passive House brochure, for vivid explanation of Passive House basics

• What is a Passive House?

• The Passive House - definition

• The Passive House – historical review

• Passive House Checklist

• Building physics - basics

• Energy and ecology

• Passive House - Assuring a sustainable energy supply

• Efficiency vs. Efficiency Factor

• The Passive House in summer

• Internal heat capacity

• Affordability

• Passive House buildings in different climates