Course for passive house consultants and designers organised by OAR

Order of Architects of Romania (OAR) organizes in Timisoara, from 8 to 24 May 2019, the course on Passive Case. The course is conducted under the license Passive House Institute in Darmstadt and aims to provide an additional grounded qualification in the design and construction of passive houses. The organisers assume that those attending the course are already familiar with the regulations for conventional buildings and the basic principles of building physics related to heat and humidity. From the website blog Dimmer, the company from Comănești that builds passive houses both in Romania and in the European Community, we learn that the company is the main sponsor of the event.

Energy efficiency.

There is a lot of talk about energy efficiency in homes in the trade. Especially lately, given the demands Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, to which our country also acceded in 2016 by Emergency Ordinance.

Directive 2010/31/EU of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings provides for increased efficiency in new buildings and requires all new buildings to be nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) by the end of 2020 and public buildings by the end of 2018. Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency also obliges Member States to set efficiency targets by 2020.

The 2016 Emergency Ordinance requires that all new private buildings, which are accepted on the basis of building permits issued on or after 31 December 2020, must have near-zero energy consumption (nZEB). For public buildings, the ordinance sets 31 December 2018 as the deadline for issuing the building permit. This means that, for public buildings, the provisions of the 2010 Directive are already in force, and any public building with a building permit issued from January 2019 onwards is required to be energy efficient.

Passive houses

Passive house is a topic we have covered on several occasions. We've talked about how the idea was born and that it is more than just a low-energy home. Passive house is a concept, a building standard that certifies that a building is truly energy efficient, comfortable, affordable and environmentally friendly at the same time.

Passive houses save up to 90% in heating and cooling energy compared to traditional houses and over 75% compared to new construction. The energy source inside the building is the body heat of the inhabitants or the solar heat entering the building, saving fossil fuels. Fresh air is supplied by a ventilation system designed so that it does not cause draughts that can be disturbing. Heat is recovered from the exhaust air through an efficient system and reused.

The wooden structure is an advantage in the construction of a passive house. Wood has the ability to absorb heat and retain it. However, the energy performance of a passive house is not just about the materials and the way the insulation is made or the heat recovery and reuse systems. It is also due to the geographical orientation of the house, the appropriate placement of thermal mass, the way rooms and doors are placed, windows or how shading methods are chosen.

Passive house course

The course organized by the Romanian Order of Architects aims to offer engineers and architects the opportunity to obtain an additional qualification related to energy efficiency in buildings. There will be 12 lectures given by 5 lecturers, well-known names in the field of energy efficiency and passive houses.

After passing the examination at the end of the course the qualification of Certified Passive House Designer/Consultant, diploma awarded by Passive House Institute and internationally recognised. Participation in the course does not automatically imply participation in the diploma examination. The course can also be taken just to better understand the Passive House concept.

Experts say that any competent architect or engineer can design a passive house. By combining the client's wishes with the technical requirements, any new building can be designed to reach the passive house standard. More and more recently this standard is being used around the world for non-residential buildings such as administrative buildings and schools. This is the trend and that is where we will have to move in the future. Attending such specialisation courses will make the path much easier for those involved in the design and construction of buildings of all types.