Promotion of European Passive Houses

PEP (Promotion of European Passive Houses) was a consortium of European partners, supported by the European Commission. The project was a relatively early venture (concluded in 2007) to introduce the concept of Passivhaus throughout various regions of Europe. The aims were to:

• Communicate the passive house concept and specific solutions in different European regions and climates.
• Adapt the existing Passive House design tool (PHPP, Passive House Planning Package) to meet the demand of architects and planners in different countries.
• Develop practical information packages, such as building product documentation, design guidelines, research results, calculation methods and quality assurance activities to assist building professionals throughout Europe in the development of Passive Houses.
• Set up a certification program for Passive House buildings and technologies and a link to the national Energy Performance Certification system according to the EU building directive.
• Organise national workshops and the annual international Passive House Conference.
• Create national Passive House websites for continuous up-to-date information provision promote regional economic activities, especially for SMEs (which perform a significant part of the working the housing industry) in order to induce an investment in the building envelope.

The project led to wider recognition of Passivhaus in the participating regions and the tailoring of the PHPP calculation tool to regional circumstances. The project website continues to offer a legacy of useful information about construction systems and techniques that can be utilised in Passivhaus construction and a handbook to introduce various construction professionals to the key concepts of the Standard. Further information is available via the project website.