Passive Houses in the

Mediterranean Climate

Jessica Grove-Smith
Passivhaus Institut Darmstadt, Germany
www.passiv.de

Passivhaus Institut, Darmstadt:

Private research instituteMay 19th, 2009
Quality assurance & certification of buildings and components
Thessaloniki
Dissemination of information
Annual international conference
CONTENTS

What is a Passive House?

How does the concept work in the
Mediterranean Climate?
Cooling
Dehumidification
Thermal mass
 What is a Passive House?

A Passive House is a highly energy efficient building...

...the standard achieves high thermal comfort and indoor air
quality with a minimal energy requirement

Building stock Passive House

Heating system, 10 kW Small reheater, max 1 kW

air
21C surface air surface
9C 21C > 17C

outside outside
-12C -12C
 What is a Passive House?

How to achieve this standard......

A good building envelope

one insulation layer
Use the pencil rule to create

avoid thermal bridges an uninterrupted airtight
layer and thermal envelope

air-tight construction around the building.

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery in the winter

Optimised solar gains

In summer:
limit solar heat recovery
gains e.g. with active bypassed
exterior blinds
What is a Passive House?

1991: 1st Passive House

Wolfgang Feist, Darmstadt, Germany

Architects: Bott, Ridder, Westermayer
What is a Passive House?

Heating energy demand kWh/(ma)

90%

existing low- CEPHEUS

building energy Passive Houses
house
 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

The building has to suit the local climatic conditions!

Average annual global radiation in Europe

Source: Meteotest; database Meteonorm (www.meteonorm.com)

 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

A note on thermal comfort...

inner comfort range

extended comfort range

 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

A detailed study by thermal simulation

 Heating/Cooling Demand [kWh/(ma)]

-100
-50
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
00 - Mannheim 350

01 - Lisbon

02 - Porto

03 - Seville

04 - Madrid

05 - Bordeaux

06 - Carpentras

07 - Nice

08 - Torino

09 - Venice

10 - Campob.

11 - Naples

12 - Palermo
Heating
Conventional construction: Heating and cooling demands

Latent Cooling
Sensible Cooling
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate
 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate
Example Passive Houses for selected locations
(conditioning over solely air-supply is possible)
roof always
floor slab not
well insulated

Mannheim
insulated

Palermo
Madrid
insulated frame &

Seville
Torino
double low-e glazing for
thermal comfort

Insulation wall [cm] 25 20 10 8 6

Insulation roof [cm] 35 25 25 20 20
Insulation basement [cm] 20 15 6 0 0
U window frames [W/(mK)] 0.72 0.72 0.72 1.6 1.6
U-value glazing [W/(mK)] 0.7 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Humidity control for cooling no yes no no yes
Heating demand [kWh/(ma)] 15.6 14.8 12.7 4.6 3.1
Sensible cooling [kWh/(ma)] 0 0.8 0.4 4.2 7.2
Latent cooling [kWh/(ma)] 0 2.3 0 0 7.2
construction determined by
significant cooling required
winter conditions
 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate
Example Passive Houses for selected locations
(conditioning over solely air-supply is possible)

Mannheim

Palermo
Madrid

Seville
Torino
Insulation wall [cm] 25 20 10 8 6
Insulation roof [cm] 35 25 25 20 20
Insulation basement [cm] 20 15 6 0 0
U window frames [W/(mK)] 0.72 0.72 0.72 1.6 1.6
U-value glazing [W/(mK)] 0.7 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Humidity control for cooling no yes no no yes
Heating demand [kWh/(ma)] 15.6 14.8 12.7 4.6 3.1
Sensible cooling [kWh/(ma)] 0 0.8 0.4 4.2 7.2
Latent cooling [kWh/(ma)] 0 2.3 0 0 7.2

no dehumidification
required
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

Passive House
prototype performance in Seville during hot period

Cooling
Capacity:
~ 8 W/m
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

Passive House
passive cooling, light colour, night flushing, no HR
mostly
sufficient,
sometimes up
to 30 C
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

Standard insulation
passive cooling, light colour, night flushing, no HR

up to 37 C
 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

Dynamics with active cooling

Significant Seville: Existing building

peak demands
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

Dynamics with active cooling

Seville: Passive House

 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate
Example Passive Houses for selected locations
(conditioning over solely air-supply is possible)

Mannheim

Palermo
Madrid

Seville
Torino
Insulation wall [cm] 25 20 10 8 6
Insulation roof [cm] 35 25 25 20 20
Insulation basement [cm] 20 15 6 0 0
U window frames [W/(mK)] 0.72 0.72 0.72 1.6 1.6
U-value glazing [W/(mK)] 0.7 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Humidity control for cooling no yes no no yes
Heating demand [kWh/(ma)] 15.6 14.8 12.7 4.6 3.1
Sensible cooling [kWh/(ma)] 0 0.8 0.4 4.2 7.2
Latent cooling [kWh/(ma)] 0 2.3 0 0 7.2
dehumidification
required!
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

Thermal comfort in Palermo

(reference Passive House)
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate
Cooling & dehumidification in Palermo
(reference Passive House)
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

Nightflushing is not always a good idea

Types of Window Operation

0
Heating / Cooling Demand [kWh/(ma)]

-5
tilt (ref.)
Sensible cooling
-10
turn

-15 turn w/o

Latent cooling humidistat
-20

-25

-30
Seville

Torino

Palermo
Madrid
 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate
The effect of thermal mass

Madrid,no cooling
Operative temperature of
living room

Passive House...

...vs. no insulation
Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate
 Passive Houses in the Mediterranean Climate

... the general principle works!

C
Winter
O
sufficient insulation: roof, walls, double low-e glazing
N more windows facing south
C some thermal mass?
L airtightness & mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
U less relevant: floor slab, thermal bridges
S
Summer
I solar control !!
O less windows?
N good insulation, especially in the roof
in hot climates: light colours
automatic heat recovery bypass
night ventilation (if possible)
some active cooling recommended for robustness
 Thank you!
For further information please visit:
Passivhaus Institut - www.passiv.de
IG Passivhaus - www.ig-passiv.de
Passivhaus Dienstleistung GmbH - www.passivhaus-info.de

Jessica Grove-Smith
Passivhaus Institut Darmstadt, Germany