I talk a lot about passive design strategies. Mostly because they’re really important, but also because they make me happy 🙂
And I know there’s some confusion around what the term ‘passive design strategies’ means, so let’s clear things up.
The main reason it can be confusing is because there’s also something called Passive House (or Passivhaus if you’d like to take it back to its roots). Passive design and Passive House are two different things, but they sound very, very similar.
So if you’ve even been confused about the terminology around passive design and Passive House, it’s well warranted.
Let's break down the difference.
This house uses passive design strategies to reduce energy consumption and make the home more comfortable: South-facing orientation, windows mostly on south face, large roof overhang for summer heat protection, and windows on opposing walls for cross-ventilation.
What Are Passive Design Strategies?
Passive design is about using natural heating, cooling, and ventilation techniques to keep your house comfortable.
These techniques are so important to incorporate into the design of your home because they’re a free way of saving you energy!
This includes…
- Orientation: Making sure your house is facing the right way so you can use sunlight to warm up your house in the wintertime.
- Cross-Ventilation: Placing windows in the right places to create cross breezes through your home, keeping you cooler in the summertime.
- Daylighting: Using sunlight appropriately to fill your house with light throughout the day so you don’t need to turn lights on.
- Thermal Mass: Building with materials that can hold heat (like tile, brick and rammed earth) to help regulate the temperature inside your home.
- Evaporative Cooling: Using water and breezes to cool your home (this is a fun design strategy in arid climates).
'Passive design' is the opposite of 'active design'. And active design means using mechanical systems to provide the same level of comfort.
This stuff is free!
That’s why I stress it so much. Your house will be more comfortable and you’ll save money if you incorporate passive design strategies into your home design.
But you need to make sure you start the design process already having this information and knowing what to do. It’s a lot harder to incorporate these strategies into a fully designed house.
My online, self-paced course Design With Confidence: Foundations For A Sustainable and Healthy Home guides you through everything you need to know to implement this in your new home or renovation.
This blower door test is testing the airtightness of a house to see if it has reached Passive House tightness level (It did!)
What Is Passive House?
This is a certification program, and it requires that your house meet specific performance standards.
It’s called Passive House because its goal is to use as little energy as possible (as little reliance on ‘active systems’).
That’s why both terms ‘ passive design’ and ‘Passive House’ start with the word 'passive'. They’re both trying to achieve the same end goal of not relying on active mechanical systems. But one is a design strategy, the other is a certification program.
The Passive House program is awesome (I’m a certified Passive House Consultant), but it requires meeting very strict energy targets, detailed modeling, rigorous documentation, and third-party verification.
Certified Passive Houses are incredibly efficient, but achieving certification often requires:
- More insulation and higher material costs
- Specialized consultants and software
- Tight construction tolerances
- Additional design and administrative fees
If you’re interested in designing to Passive House Standards, I can help you! Learn more about my custom services here.
Oh how I love south-facing windows with overhangs that keep the hot sun out on summer days.
To Sum It Up
Passive design is a design approach.
It’s about using the building’s orientation, layout, window placement, insulation, and shading to work with the climate instead of against it. The goal is to reduce heating and cooling needs through smart, climate-responsive decisions made early in design.
Passive House is a rigorous building certification and performance standard.
It focuses on high levels of insulation, airtight construction, high-performance windows, and efficient systems to dramatically reduce household energy use.
Here's the Key Takeaway
You can absolutely design a high-performing, comfortable, low-energy home using passive design principles without pursuing Passive House certification. Both approaches have value, but they serve different goals and require different levels of commitment.
Understanding this distinction empowers you to make informed decisions about what's right for your project, budget, and sustainability goals.
Learn the simple steps of incorporating passive design strategies into your home design with my free guide:
10-Step Guide to Designing a Healthy, Sustainable, Affordable Home
