You are here: Home › CertificationBuildings |Process of certification

Certification process

We recommend contacting a certifier* early on in the planning process. Any problems identified by the certifier can be easily corrected at this point in time. In principle however, certification can also be applied for after completion of the building.

As a rule, all energy-relevant planning documents and technical data of the construction products are submitted before the start of construction work. After careful checking and comparison with the energy balance calculation, the certifier will provide information about any necessary corrections.

After completion of the construction, any changes in the planning will be updated and documents relating to construction (airtightness test, documentation of flow rate adjustment, construction manager's declaration) will be checked during the final inspection.

 


If all criteria are met, the building owner will receive the following:

Staged retrofit with the EnerPHit Retrofit Plan

Many building owners do not want to undertake a complete renovation, but rather upgrade only each building component as repairs are otherwise required. Here it is often possible to reach a high level of energy efficiency at low additional costs, using Passive House components. Before the process begins, an overall plan should however be completed ahead of time, for the current as well as all future retrofit steps which will be undertaken. This is the only way to be sure that everything will fit together and that the owner can count on having a comfortable building with low energy costs once the final step is completed.

The EnerPHit Retrofit Plan (available on the PHPP-file) provides a methodology for this type of overall plan. For additional quality assurance, the Passive House Institute offers a pre-certification as an EnerPHit (or a Passive House) project. This requires a well-established EnerPHit Retrofit Plan, where the first retrofit step has already been implemented with minimum energy savings of at least 20 %. The pre-certification provides assurance to the owners and planners that following the implementation of all retrofit steps, the desired Standard will have been reached.

 

 

Graphic: © Passive House Institute

Building criteria
Building criteria in other languages


Advantages of certification
Consulting
Energy standards | Criteria
Building Certification Guide
Building certifiers

 

Next Courses

PHPP Expert
Passive House Designer / Consultant
Construction Verifier
Site Supervisor
read more

e-learning

Events

iPHA Webinar Electrify Responsibly with Passive House" | November 6, 2024
read more

Passive House Open Days |
7 - 9 November 2025

read more

Component Database

Passive House
Component Database
read more


Projects

read more

New developments

designPH
read more

NEW: PHPP 10 (2021)
read more

Seals for Certified Passive House Components
read more


Passive House Classes,
Classic, Plus, Premium
read more


EnerPHit -
PHI certification for retrofits
read more


Wall plaque
for certified Passive Houses
read more

 

Press releases

Latest press releases

Research & Literature

Passive Houses for different climate zones
more

Retrofits with Passive House components -
EnerPHit Planner Handbook
(in German)

 

Passive House Retail Stores now out
Overview of contents
(in German)



PHI Literature

© copyright Passive House Institute 2024