Passive House in Italy

Energy efficiency is just as important in warm climates as in cold. In Italy the architect Maria Grazia Novo has designed and built her own Passive House together with Rockwool Italia and a number of other experts.

What is a passive house?
The limits for energy consumption in a Passive House is 15 kWh/m2 per year for heating. A Passive House is a construction form where the energy consumption is minimised as much as possible. Good insulation, efficient ventilation and appliances, triple-gazed windows, airtight constructions and an optimal building orientation enable this. Most of the heating energy comes from  free/passive energy sources, such as sun light, body heat and excess heat from (efficient) electrical appliances.

Building year
2006

Size
240 m2
 

240-300 mm of Rockwool insulation, triple-glazed windows, an efficient ventilation system with 85-90% heat recovery plus systematic construction methods preventing leaks and thermal bridges help keep the house warm at minimum heating costs during chilly winters.

“Our neighbours are a bit envious,” says Mrs. Novo. “A house of similar size spent € 3 500 on gas this winter. From December to March we spent 95% less, only € 175 for heating and hot water,” she beams.

What makes this house special is that it not only keeps out the cold during winter, but it also keeps the scolding heat at arm’s length during sweltering summer temperatures. 
 

No additional costs
“This high-quality passive house did not cost more than a traditional high-profile (but poorly insulated) house. We had a fixed budget of € 300 000. A traditional heating system with boiler and radiators (including piping and installation) would have cost around € 30 000. Instead the entire heating pump system (pump, piping, silencers etc) in this passive house only cost € 20 000, so the € 10 000 saved covered the extra costs of extra insulation and more energy-efficient windows," says Maria Novo.