Partnership to promote low-energy buildings

The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Passive House Institute (PHI) and the Australian Passive House Association (APHA) have agreed to work together to promote ultralow-energy buildings.

Passive House (Passivhaus) is a voluntary building standard that delivers comfortable, energy-efficient and affordable buildings — of all types — that require little energy for heating or cooling. A typical Passive House uses 80% less energy than standard practice.

“The Green Building Council of Australia recognises that the Passive House approach delivers an integrated approach to thermally comfortable, super-efficient buildings,” said Jorge Chapa, the GBCA’s head of market transformation.

“Our goal is to recognise Passive House certified buildings within Green Star to deliver a better built environment. We will be working together to provide the industry with guidance on how buildings with Passive House certification can achieve Green Star credits, because we want more buildings to meet Passive House benchmarks.”

The partnership comes after the GBCA proposed an update to the Green Star – Design and As Built rating tool, which would recognise a new Passive House pathway to achieve ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions’ and ‘Thermal Comfort’ credits. APHA Chairperson Darren O’Dea said the partnership signals “exciting times” ahead as the organisations work to “integrate a pathway for Passive House buildings into Green Star”.

“Up until recently, Passive House buildings have been the focus of passionate residential building owners looking for great designs that address both comfort and costs,” he said. “As a result, we have more than 80,000 Passive House buildings around the world — and they are found everywhere from the cold climates of Canada to the scorching heat of Dubai.

“Today, the growing number of project teams working with Passive House is a sure sign of the future potential of ultralow-energy buildings.”