WHAT DOES A PASSIVHAUS RENOVATION MEAN IN BARCELONA?

The concept of Passivhaus reform in Barcelona is becoming more and more widespread among people interested in comprehensive reforms. In Barcelona, the application of the Passivhaus criteria is not as strict as in other places more towards central-northern Europe. The Passivhaus standard consists of designing construction solutions based on the external climate of the area, so that an annual energy consumption of 15 kW/m2 for both heating and cooling is not exceeded, nor 120 kW/m2 and year of total primary energy consumption, including domestic hot water and other electrical consumption. The basic principles of the Passivhaus are:

• Thermal insulation of the entire building envelope (the walls, floors and ceilings that separate us from the outside)
• Elimination of thermal bridges (any part of the envelope that does not have the necessary thermal insulation)
• The air tightness of the house, or in other words, the air tightness (checking the joints and gaps through which there may be leaks from the outside environment or thermal energy escapes from the inside to the outside)

These three aspects favor a reduction in energy consumption.

• Indoor ventilation by heat recovery (this requires a mechanical ventilation system using extractors, with temporary renewal of the indoor air). The latent heat inside is recovered to be reused, after having been filtered, as thermal energy.

It is not an air purifier. For this, you must have a simultaneous indoor air purification system with a series of special filters, or it must be part of the indoor ventilation system itself.

• Exterior enclosures (balconies and windows) with thermal break (see point 2), insulating glass, and, if possible, solar control on the outside and low emissivity on the inside with argon gas in the air chamber. These are high-performance windows and doors.
• Make the most of the hours of sunshine in winter and filter the summer sun by using protections such as awnings, blinds, or any element that prevents direct sunlight from entering in summer. Also make the most of the interior heat to improve energy efficiency.

It is easier to apply these principles in detached passive houses than in apartments in existing buildings. A passive apartment is difficult to achieve in an existing building because the ideal is to improve the thermal insulation on the outside, and this is not always possible, either due to the type of façade or due to a lack of agreement from the community of owners. It is possible to work on the inside of the apartments but at the expense of useful surface area. A passive house renovation is really worthwhile because it improves energy efficiency and indoor air quality. Nowadays, home automation and mobile applications make it much easier for us to manage the machines and equipment we have at home, without having to keep an eye on them all the time.