The Passive House criteria is a set of specific requirements that a building must meet to be considered a Passive House. These criteria include:
1. Energy Efficiency: The building must have extremely low energy demand, using no more than 15 kWh/m² of living space per year.
2. Air Tightness: The building must be extremely airtight, with a maximum allowable air leakage rate of 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 Pascal pressure (0.6ACH @50Pa).
3. Insulation: The building must have a highly insulated building envelope, with a maximum U-value of 0.15 W/m²K for walls, roofs and floors.
4. Windows: The building must have high-performance, triple-glazed windows with a maximum U-value of 0.8 W/m²K.
5. Ventilation: The building must have an efficient mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery, providing fresh air without energy loss.
6. Thermal Bridge-free Design: The building must be constructed to avoid thermal bridges, which are areas of the building where heat can leak or escape.
7. Renewable Energy: Passive House criteria recommend the use of renewable energy sources to meet the remaining energy demand of a building or community.
Overall, the Passive House criteria aim to create comfortable, healthy, energy-efficient, and sustainable buildings that have minimal environmental impacts.
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