Passive house design-tools for calculating energy balances
Does energy-conscious design require sophisticated
simulations?
This was indeed the case for the first Passive Houses that were completed in
1991. Calculating the energy balance of buildings with very low energy consumption
is a demanding task - existing regulations, standards and prestandards lack
the required precision. Nevertheless, we have identified the critical factors
for preparing reliable balances - with tools that are simple to use and with
acceptable effort in terms of data input.
The Passive House Planning Package
(PHPP)
is a clearly structured design tool that can be used directly by architects
and designers.
Several thousand users have already experienced the reliability of the calculation results and the manageability of the tool.
The PHPP includes tools for
PHPP was presented for the first time in 1998 and has since been continuously developed further. At the core of the package are worksheets for heating energy balances (annual demand or monthly methode), heat distribution and supply, electricity demand and primary energy demand.
New design modules have been added successively, e.g. calculation of window parameters, shading, heating load and summer performance.
The PHPP is continuously validated and refined based on measurements and new research results. As part of accompanying scientific research studies, measurements from more than 300 projects have so far been compared with calculation results. Of crucial significance was the CEPHEUS project undertaken as part of the European "Thermie" programme, during which housing developments were constructed according to passive house standards and scientifically accompanied at 14 different European locations (more).
The PHPP energy balance module was shown to be able to describe the thermal building characteristics of passive houses surprisingly accurately. This applies particularly to the new technique for calculating the heating load, which was developed specifically for passive houses.
The following diagram shows the results of a comparison between measurements and PHPP calculations for different passive houses at different locations. It is interesting to note that in all cases, irrespective of the thermal insulation standard of the buildings, there is high (relative) scatter due to user behaviour, but the calculations were in excellent agreement with the average measurement results.
|
Diagram: Comparison of PHPP calculation with consumption measurements in housing developments with low energy and passive houses |
New in the PHPP 2007:
For the new edition of the PHPP 2007 especially the following worksheets have been significantly and revised supplemented:
Summer Case
| Summer | The summertime calculation
methods, which have already proven to be accurate, were revised and now
explicitly consider ground-coupling solar irradiation absorbed by the outer
surfaces and various nighttime ventilation strategies. |
| Ground |
For the summer case, an additional series
of ground temperatures is now calculated. |
| Areas |
The radiation balance of outer structural
building components is now considered. |
| SummVent | Various window ventilation
flows can now be displayed side-by-side. |
| New: Cooling |
The cooling load
is calculated for the cases in which active cooling is required |
| New: Cooling Units |
The energy demand
for latent loads (i.e. air dehumidification) is estimated. |
| New: Cooling Load |
This worksheet determines
the maximum cooling performance demand as a daily average.
|
| PE-Value | The cooling demand,
if present, is included in the primary energy balance. |
Internationalisation
| Climate Data | The structure and
handling of this worksheet was redesigned to increase user-friendliness.
Numerous additional climate data, in particular complete climate data sets
for Eastern Europe, Austria, Switzerland and important European cities,
are included. |
| Window Shading |
The algorithms for calculating the solar
gains are now valid outside of Central Europe. |
| Ventilation |
A climate-indipendent efficiency instead
of the heat supply efficiency is given for the subsoil heat exchanger. |
Non-residential Buildings
| New: Electricity NonDom |
With
the help of this new worksheet, the electricity demand for lighting, electronic
devices, and kitchens in non-residential building can be calculated. |
| New: IHG Non-Dom |
This new calculation worksheet serves to
project and verify the internal heat gains of non-residential buildings. |
| New: Use Non-Dom |
Utilization profiles for projecting the electricity
demand and the internal heat gains of non-residential buildings are imbedded
in this new worksheet; several profiles can be defined. |
Compact Heat
Pump Units
| Compact |
The
worksheet was completely revised to account for the certification of compact
heat pump units that began in 2007. |
| New: IHG Non-Dom |
This new calculation worksheet serves to
project and verify the internal heat gains of non-residential buildings. |
| New: Use Non-Dom |
Utilization profiles for projecting the electricity
demand and the internal heat gains of non-residential buildings are imbedded
in this new worksheet; several profiles can be defined. |
Order
PHPP 2007 English online
Criteria
for Residential-Use
pdf (584 kB)
Criteria for Non-Residential
pdf (48 kB)
Other sources of supply for the English version
The English version of the PHPP is also available from the following organizations:
USA:
e-co lab
110 South Race Street Suite 202
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Telephone: 001-217-344-1294
www.e-colab.org
katrin.klingenberg@e-colab.org
UK:
PassivHausUKManaged by the Building Research Establishment
www.passivhaus.org.uk
Order
form
Ireland:
Renewable Energy Information Office
Sustainable Energy Ireland
Shinagh House, Bandon, Co. CORK
IRELAND
Telephone: +353 / 23 / 29145 or -6
Fax: +353 / 23 / 29154
www.sei.ie/reio.htm
xavier@reio.ie
The PHPP is also available in other languages, partly containing national extensions. Please refer to the following pages for details:
Flemish (Version 2003, Excel workbook in
Flemish with German manual):
Passiefhuis-Platform vzw
Gitschotellei 138
2600 BERCHEM
BELGIUM
Telephone: +32 / (0) 3 235 02 81
Fax: +32 / (0) 3 271 03 59
www.passiefhuisplatform.be
info@passiefhuisplatform.be
Order
form
Italian (Version: PHPP
2007it):
TBZ
GmbH Technisches Bauphysik
Pfarrhofstrasse 60/a, I-39100 Bozen (BZ)
Tel. 0039
- 0471 251701
Fax. 0039- 0471 252621
info@tbz.bz
www.tbz.bz
Polish (Version 2004):
PIBP Polski Instytut Budownictwa Pasywnego
Dipl.Ing. Günter Schlagowski
ul. Homera 57
80-299 GDANSK
POLAND
Telephone: +48 / (0) 58 524 12 00
Fax: +48 / (0) 58 522 98 50
pibp@pibp.pl
www.pibp.pl
or
Dipl.-Ing. Günter Schlagowski
Schwachhauser Ring 103
28213 BREMEN
GERMANY
Telephone: +49 / (0) 421 211210
Fax: +49 / (0) 421 212772
g.schlagowski@t-online.de
French/Français (Version 2004):
Association "La Maison Passive France"
Siège social: 7 bis rue de Rouvray
F-92200 Neuilly sur Seine
postmaster@lamaisonpassive.fr
www.lamaisonpassive.fr
Critères pour en tant que bâtiment
d'habitation pdf (69 kB)
Critères
pour en tant que bâtiments
non résidentiels pdf (45 kB)
Order
PHPP 2007 English online
Criteria
for Residential-Use
pdf (584 kB)
Criteria for Non-Residential
pdf (48 kB)
