Maintenance of Passive House Standard in the Light of Long-Term Study on Energy Use in a Prefabricated Lightweight Passive House in Central Europe

Abstract

This article presents the results of experimental research on energy consumption of a prefabricated lightweight passive house located in the south of Poland. The key design parameters of the building were as follows: orientation maximizing heat gains from solar radiation, high thermal insulation of partitions, heat provided by ground source heat pump, and mechanical ventilation system with the heat exchanger. The measurements were performed in normal operating conditions in an inhabited building, throughout the years 2011–2019. For the year 2012, the article also presents the detailed structure of electricity used for particular devices. The objective of the research was to verify whether, in the long term, the building fulfils the energy consumption requirements for passive buildings. The measurements showed that energy consumption for heating was 50% lower than the value required from passive buildings. However, primary energy consumption for the entire building was exceeded already in the second year of research. This was caused by two factors: human behaviors and the type of primary energy source. The research concludes that the maintenance of passive house standard is vulnerable to human impact and difficult in the case of power source characterized by high index of expenditure on non-renewable primary energy. The article also presents recommendations on how to restore the passive house standard in the building.

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