Week 3 The Building Fabric Post Lecture Resources

In today's class, we looked at the importance of the area:volume ratio and compactness and how this has a considerable influence on the heating energy demand of buildings. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) have produced a useful tool to calculate your area:volume ratios. To supplement our class discussion on passive solar design principles the SEAI have produced a useful guide Solar Homes Catch the Sun and the Low Carbon Homes Programme in the UK have produced a guide on Passive Solar Estate Layouts. The passipedia resource provides some more information on the thermal insulation building fabric and airtight layers that are required in a passive house.

Week 3 Passive House Thermal Envelope Pre-Lecture Resources

This week, we will focus on appropriate thermal envelope design and construction options for a passive house. Passipedia, the excellent passive house wiki provides an overview of the important concept of energy balance.

Passive Development Ltd. provides a nice short overview presentation on the passive house principles in the following short video.

EnergyQuarter and Tomas O'Leary have produced an excellent series of videos including this one on thermal envelope.