Passive House Academy

Starting point / Motivation

Concepts of lowest energy and passive houses have successfully proven gain of comfort and sustainability. Though, developers and landlords report observing difficulties with the implementation of these innovative technologies and with the acceptance by the occupants, and do no longer deal with these technologies for the time being.

The Passive House Academy gathers the various experiences articulated by the developers, and initiates a structured transfer of knowledge to acquaint unexperienced developers, as well as early adopters, with successful experiences and best practice examples of lowest energy and passive houses in domestic architecture, and to make them to operators with skill and competence. In addition, the process of this knowledge transfer is accompanied with expert advisors.

Contents and Objectives

Target group are the decision-makers of developers of public utility housing projects, as well of commercial residential buildings, and representatives of property management divisions, who are not merely interested to gain specific knowledge, but primarily are in a position to contribute know how and experience.

Experience from innovators of the domains of developing, implementing, and opertaing and maintenance of lowest energy and passive houses in domestic architecture were collected and scientifically edited and concentrated, with the expert knowledge of the project team of the Passive House Academy and of the advisory council. The results were communicated to the developers, and thus formed the base for further discussions.

It was the goal of the Passive House Academy to create and initialize a platform to provide assistance for planning, quality management, and specific further education to improve the quality of future dwelling housing projects.

Methods

The Passive House Academy is offering an appropriate platform for a structured transfer of knowledge, which does not comply with a classical course of instruction. Instead, the concept is to concentrate on the target group of innovators and early adopters. Thereby, the mutual benefit for all participants is evident. It is a crucial requirement to be able and willing to share one´s own experiences with the group, to take part in the process of knowledge transfer.

The project was designed in two sections:

1. Survey: The decision-makers and project directors of the developers have been interviewed about their specific experiences, difficulties und achievements with past and ongoing  housing projects. The results of the interviews, held all over Austria, were collected and scientifically edited, concentrated, and made anonymous, with the expert knowledge of the project team of the Passive House Academy and of the advisory council.
   Section interviews and analysation: March to July 2010.
2. Workshops: Based on the analysis of the interviews, the agenda for the workshops of the Passive House Academy, to be held in four regions of Austria, was developed. Participants of the workshops were the invited decision-makers of developers of dwelling housing projects, and representatives of property management divisions, and additionally representatives of regional funding institutions The expert advisors delivered essential inputs in study-groups, dealing with specific topics.
   Section workshops, analysation and reporting: August to Dezember 2010.

The Passive House Academy is designed to be a periodical platform for a continuous and advanced transfer of knowledge among developers. In future, not only established developers of innovative housing concepts shall participate, also more newcomers shall be integrated. Open question and unsolved matters, which have emerged out of the first workshop series, shall be covered in consecutive workshops. The advisory council as well as the representatives of the regional public funding authorities shall further on be involved in the transfer of knowledge.

Results

It was for the first time, that representative experiences were collected from develeopers all over Austria. The state of knowledge and the needs and requirements of the developers were gathered and scientifically edited, and a platform for mutual communication was started. Now it is necessary to continue this successful process.

A significant result of the Passive House Academy are comprehensible technical bulletins (FAQs) for the target groups of business managers, planing directors and property managers, concerning the special fields of heating, ventilation, preventation of overheating in summer, and ecology of buildings.

Important results of the first workshop period comprised specific topics of planning, bid invitation, and execution of construction work, as well as operating functuality, and best methods to train and acquaint the inhabitants with the features of passive houses.

The passive house concept is suitable for all social groups, and a significant reduction of fluctuation due to an increased contentment of the tenants can be stated. Simple operation devices for the ventilation system, which are easy to understand for the inhabitants, and prevention of mildew due to the mechanical ventilation were noted positively.

To train and inform the occupants it was stated, that various ways of communication are necessary: by printed instructions, in personal conversations, by online services, and with information supplies from independent institutions. Besides it is important not to stir exorbitant expectations concerning very low operation expenses, safety from allergies, and no overheating of passive houses in summer by itself.

To gain maximum quality in the processes of planning and construction work of passive houses it was stated, that integrative methods of planning, where all required consultants are involved in very early state of process, are essential. Besides, accurate controlling and quality management, as well as monitoring of the technical equipment, were noted to be crucial.

The developers have generated various successful concepts for building equipment and appliances, and gained valuable experiences through their already implemented housing projects. Therefore, it is essential that the process of mutual information for developers, provided by the Passive House Academy, will succeed.

All the positive experiences, which were gathered until now and will emerge in the near future by this dialogue, will bring advanced know how to the already involved developers, and beyond that to interested newcomers.

Prospects / Suggestions for future research

All participants of the Passive House Academy expressed the urgency to continue the
workshop series with a deepening selection of topics. The Passive House Academy is
designed to be a long-term periodical platform for a continuous and advanced transfer of knowledge among developers, based on the scientific background of the project team, with the support of independent expert advisors, and with the integration of regional publicfunding authorities.