Working Group XIII: Research and Development in Building Physics

‘Passive House standard’ simply means that expertise and findings of building physics are extensively implemented. Numerous advantages result from highly insulated building shells: Inner surface temperatures differ only slightly from room temperatures, which ensure little differences in radiant temperature, less humidity absorption and less thermal stress within the components. It leads to higher thermal comfort and improved health and building protection.
Concerning Passive Houses, building physics constantly gains new and continuative findings. Working group XIII highlights the latest developments and findings in this research field.

To start with, Rainer Pfluger is giving a lecture on ‘Solutions on Humidity Protection with Inside Insulation’. Inside insulation on its own is no recommended measure for Passive Houses as thermal bridges are generally too high. New buildings with Passive House standard are on principle planned and constructed with an outer thermal insulation, thereby gaining ample advantages. Though, if conducted correctly inside thermal insulation is better than no insulation at all.

How humidity protection can be improved when using inside insulation is explained by Rainer Pflüger.

The purpose of ventilation in a Passive House is, among others, to ensure that interior humidity cannot rise too much. The higher the external airflow in winter, the more interior air humidity is being diluted by dry external air. But if the external airflow is too high, this may lead to dry indoor air. Adrian Tschui addresses this problem and possible solutions in his lecture on ‘Passive Houses and Interior Air Humidity’ (see also website on air humidity in the Passive House lecture).

When refurbishing old buildings, problems with thermal bridges need to be dealt with especially. For important thermal bridges, alternative insulation measures have been calculated and the respective &Psi-values tabulated and diagrammed. A. Külich is presenting these results in his lecture on ‘Estimation of Thermal Bridges at the Energetic Refurbishment of Old Buildings using Passive House Components’.

Special conditions predominate when implementing vacuum insulation panels. As the insulating layers are very thin, each break has negative affects. Marc Großklos’s lecture deals with ‘Thermal Bridges in Prefabricated Insulating Elements for Refurbishing Existing Buildings’.

Christof Stölzel is introducing a ‘ready for market’ system to insulate buildings with Passive house suitable vacuum insulation panels in his lecture on ‘Safe VIP- Construction and Building Processes with Qasa’.

Protected Vacuum-Insulation-Panel (Presentation from Christof Stölzel in WG XIII)

Working group XIII is meeting on Friday, 20th of May, 2 p.m. in the ‘Kuppelsaal’(cupola hall)

Time schedule of the 10^th International Conference on Passive Houses in Hannover
The conference proceedings are in print now. All contributions (but one) were received in time.
Special thanks go to all authors!

2006 May 19th and 20th   10. Conference on Passive Houses HCC Hannover with Exhibition on Passive House Components and manufacturers session

May 21st field trip to the most interesting Passive House projects and construction sites incl. refurbishment in the region near Hannover.

(updated:2006-05-01 WF  © Passivhouse Institute PHI; this page might be reprinted if unchanged)

The PHI is not responsible for the content of linked web-pages. 
Passive House Institute, Dr. Wolfgang Feist. mail@passiv.de.

.2006-02-17
Programme of the 10th International Conference on Passive Houses
PDF 111 kB (Englisch)