Discovering passive housing

In this day in age, it's quite common to want to reduce the running costs in any home. With buildings, this is arguably in the form of heat and energy efficiency. If you're looking to improve your home, you may want to look into the benefits of passive housing.

This is a term used to describe techniques which can help reduce your ecological footprint; improving your energy efficiency in the process.

The benefits

The major benefit of passive housing, besides the environmental considerations, is that it stops you from wasting energy. This in turn means that more heat is retained within your home, reducing your overall energy consumption.

As a result, you also save money. Having to use less heat and energy each time helps to make a bigger saving on your monthly bills. Add this up over several years and passive housing can be regarded as an investment. The money you save each year will pay off the original cost of the housing developments and any money saved after this will be pure profit.

Likewise, being able to retain heat better gives you greater control over the actual heat itself. A lot of people notice their heating often rises or declines quickly; this is because heat is escaping through the house. With the heat staying inside, you can better what temperature it is inside with greater ease.

Passive housing techniques

Now that the benefits of passive housing have been discussed, it's important to look into what exactly can be done to achieve this in your home.

Windows

The most common method is to address your choice of windows, as this is a common area where heat and energy can escape. Obviously, the likes of double glazing help to keep heat in but the actual choice of window frame can further benefit this. Materials like uPVC and hard woods can be used to retain heat. If done correctly, professional windows should lock the air in when the window is closed.

Doors

The door, likewise, provides another area where heat can escape easily. Like the windows, your outside doors need to be air tight. A standard door, even when shut, has a thin gap running around the edges. Considering the dimensions of the common door, it should be clear just how much heat can escape throughout the day; heat that you're inevitably paying for.

Your internal doors also need to be addressed. People often make the mistake of heating every room in their house, even those which are not in use. Not only does this waste heat and energy but it also costs you more money.

By adjusting the temperature in each individual room you can gain greater control over this but your actions will be in vain if you don't seal rooms securely. This means having firm, airtight internal doors that ensure heat does not escape to other rooms.