Passive house () is a voluntary building performance standard for very high energy efficiency and thermal comfort that substantially reduces a buildingâÂÂs carbon footprint. Buildings certified to the standard are ultra-low energy and typically require very little energy for space heating or cooling. The approach is used for housing and for non-residential buildings such as offices, schools, kindergartens and healthcare facilities. Energy efficiency is integral to architectural design rather than an add-on. Although most common in new construction, the principles are also applied in deep renovations.
As of January 2025, projects certified by the Passive House Institute (PHI) comprise over 47,400 units with about 4.32 million mò of treated floor area (TFA) worldwide; the public PHI database lists nearly 6,000 projects. In North America, the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) reported 500+ total certified projects and ~1.6 million ftò certified in 2024 alone, with 4.4 million ftò design-certified that year. While early adoption concentrated in German-speaking countries and Scandinavia, certified projects are now documented across diverse climate zones, including hot-humid and tropical regions.
The term passive house was originally used in the 1970s for buildings emphasizing passive solar strategies. Since the 1990s, it instead denotes meeting specific quantified PHI certification criteria (space conditioning, primary energy, airtightness and comfort requirements). The standard originated from a 1988 discussion between Bo Adamson (Lund University) and Wolfgang Feist (then at the Institute for Housing and Environment, Darmstadt), followed by research supported by the state of Hesse. Passive solar strategies are not required, though often form part of the approach to meet the certification criteria.
North American âÂÂsuperinsulationâ pioneers of the 1970s (e.g., the Saskatchewan Conservation House and the Leger House) provided important technical precursors, including heat-recovery ventilation and airtightness testing.
Four terraced houses in Darmstadt-Kranichstein (1990âÂÂ1991) are widely cited as the first built to what became the Passive House standard.
The Passivhaus-Institut (PHI) was founded in 1996 in Darmstadt to develop, promote and certify to the standard. By 2010 an estimated 25,000+ Passive House buildings existed worldwide.
The concept has since been demonstrated at scale. Gaobeidian, China, hosts what is reported as the worldâÂÂs largest Passive House development (Railway City), with several hundred thousand mò of certified area built in phases since 2019. The worldâÂÂs tallest certified Passive House building is the 88 m Bolueta tower in Bilbao, Spain (2018).
In the United States, Katrin KlingenbergâÂÂs 2003 âÂÂSmith Houseâ (Urbana, IL) catalyzed a movement that led to the creation of PHIUS (2007). PHIUS has since certified hundreds of projects; New York CityâÂÂs Park Avenue Green (2019) was recognized as North AmericaâÂÂs largest Passive House affordable housing project at the time.
In the UK health sector, the Passivhaus-certified Foleshill Health Centre (Coventry, opened 2021) demonstrated substantial energy savings in operation and a replicable delivery model for NHS facilities.
While techniques such as superinsulation predate the standard, Passive House (PHI) specifies quantitative performance criteria and quality assurance. Key requirements include:
Two related but distinct standards operate in North America:
The two programs use different energy models and protocols and certify independently.
Passive House building costs vary by market, building type, and the experience of the builder and their team. Reported cost premiums for Passive House construction over conventional construction have ranged from ~5âÂÂ10% in Germany, the UK and the US, with reductions noted as supply chains mature.
The specific drivers of building cost and complexity vary, but relative to basic Code-compliant construction, Passive Houses typically include superinsulation of the envelope, requiring greater thickness and complextiy of the wall assembly in particular, and particular attention to air, water, and vapour barriers, including at all penetrations. They also include very high performance window and exterior door systems.
Cost premiums are partially offset by downsized or eliminated conventional heating/cooling systems, and lower operating costs over the building life cycle. Delivery at cost parity with standard code buildings has been demonstrated in some German multifamily projects (e.g., Vauban, Freiburg). High-latitude locations (>60ðN) can face higher envelope and glazing costs to meet targets.
Core practices include:
Concerns are sometimes raised that occupants must restrict behaviours (e.g., opening windows), but sensitivity analyses indicate performance is generally robust to typical occupant variation.