Passivhaus: How to Build to This Low Energy Standard

oak frame passivhaus self build with balconies
(Image credit: Mark Bolton)

There's building a house, then there's building a Passivhaus. It's quite an undertaking taking on a project that aims to meet Passivhaus standards, as it is a very thorough and exacting way to build, ensuring your build is airtight, well insulated and energy efficient. 

This, of course, comes at a cost, and will certainly add to your overall expenditure on your self build, but the benefits a Passivhaus can offer will potentially change how you think about living in a home forever. 

Tim Pullen

Tim is an expert in sustainable building methods and energy efficiency in residential homes and writes on the subject for magazines and national newspapers. He is the author of The Sustainable Building Bible, Simply Sustainable Homes and Anaerobic Digestion - Making Biogas - Making Energy: The Earthscan Expert Guide.


His interest in renewable energy and sustainability was first inspired by visits to the Royal Festival Hall heat pump and the Edmonton heat-from-waste projects. In 1979

this initial burst of enthusiasm lead to him trying (and failing) to build a biogas digester to convert pig manure into fuel, at a Kent oast-house, his first conversion project.


Moving in 2002 to a small-holding in South Wales, providing as it did access to a wider range of natural resources, fanned his enthusiasm for sustainability. He went on to install renewable technology at the property, including biomass boiler and wind turbine.


He formally ran energy efficiency consultancy WeatherWorks and was a speaker and expert at the Homebuilding & Renovating Shows across the country.