Passive house

Ecokit WOODEN HOUSE PASSIVE STRUCTURE

A European directive that entered into force on 31 December 2020 requires that all new buildings comply with the principle of 'almost zero energy consumption'. In other countries, buildings of this type have been being built for decades. In Romania, the concept has entered only recently. They are called passive houses.

First of all, passive houses are characterized by high thermal comfort and high indoor air quality.

For a house to be declared thermally passive, the requirement is that the entire building does not require more than 15 kWh / m2 / year for thermal comfort. For a house to be energetically passive it must not consume more than 60 kWh / m2 / year. This includes heating, home appliances and lighting. 

The energy consumption for heating a passive house is more than 75% lower than the similar consumption of a conventional house.

Basic principles

Thermal insulation – 0.10 to 0.15 W/(m²K). This value is for Central Europe. To fit into this consumption it is necessary to have:

● a minimum thickness of external wall of 25-30 cm

● for external walls a minimum thickness of 20 cm of insulation with mineral/basaltic wool is recommended

● the external insulation must be continuous for the foundation, walls and roof

● roof insulation of 40 cm thickness of to avoid heat loss through the most sensitive area of the house.

Elimination of thermal bridges – a part of the construction that prevents heat leakage. Proper insulation of frames (doors + windows), of contact of the foundation with the ground, joints between the walls, floors and the roof are required.

Tightness of air circulation and highly efficient windows – it is necessary that the warm air inside is not lost. It is recommended that the exterior joinery has layers of glass and inert gas inside and profiles that seal perfectly and have a good insulation of the frames to the walls. 

Ventilating the air with heat recovery – the passive house is by definition quite airtight, which leads to a permanent need for fresh air. It is recommended to use a ventilation system with heat recovery that reduces heating costs by ensuring the necessary amount of fresh air regardless of the activities carried out, and a humidity control.

The correct positioning of the building in relation to the cardinal points – here is a simpler requirement to fulfil, which may be omitted by ignorance and which, with a minimum of effort, can bring a heat intake with no effective cost. The eaves of the roof should shade the windows in summer and allow the sun's rays to enter in winter, when the sun moves closer to the horizon. We cannot speak of passive house if it is precisely solar energy that is poorly or not at all used. The thermally correctly oriented passive house is the beginning of all steps in this regard. 

Ecokit provides the wooden structure of the passive house, a wood structure properly insulated so that the energy consumption allows the house to be classified as a passive house, following that the other principles defining it as a "passive house" to be managed by the coordinating architect and beneficiary.

We propose a variant of passive house structure consisting of an outer wall, finite thickness of 37 cm, which includes 20 cm of basaltic wool insulation inside the structure and 10 cm of external insulation with façade basaltic wool. The 40 cm thickness of the layer of basaltic wool from the roof provides proper insulation to a passive house, thus avoiding heat loss.

The wood used in the structure is dried, treated and planed on four sides. For connecting the structure we use only galvanized and homologated mechanical connectors with CE marking. The resistance structure of the wooden house is designed using specialized software.

ECOKIT WOODEN HOUSE DESCRIPTION - PASSIVE STRUCTURE 

● EXTERIOR WALLS – structure 200×45 mm, planed wood on 4 sides and braced with class 3 OSB of 12 mm on the outside

● INTERIOR WALLS – structure of 150×45 mm for the bearing walls and 100×45 mm for the partition walls

● FLOORBOARD BETWEEN FLOORS – 200×45 mm beams, interax between beams of approx. 41.7 cm, plated on top with 22 mm OSB with the role of stiffening and support for parquet

● ROOF FRAMING – traditional 200×45 mm roof framing for houses with attic, industrialized roof framing consisting of roof trusses, calculated with the specialized MITEK program; terrace roof framing for houses with terrace; including two rows of 100x45 mm wood structure mounted transversely for the elimination of thermal bridges

● BOTTOM PLATE –slab for fixing the panels on a concrete slab, specially treated in the autoclave, against humidity; dimensions: 200x45 mm / 150×45 mm and 100×45 mm

● TOP PLATE – has the role of connecting and fixing the panels between two floors; dimensions 200x45 mm / 150×45 mm and 100×45 mm

● METAL PARTS AND SPECIAL CONNECTORS – necessary for fixing the panels, floor and roof framing

● BEAMS and PILLARS MADE OF MULTI-LAYERED WOOD – are used to take over the loads where there are large open spaces (where applicable)

● FLIPS – for fixing the anti-condensation film and the covering, for fixing the insulation under the outer panelling

● EXECUTION PLANS DONE IN THE FACTORY

● BASALTIC WOOL – distributed as follows: 150 mm in the exterior walls, 100 mm in the interior walls, 200 mm in the panel between the floors and 300 mm in the roof

● VAPOR BARRIER FOIL – used on the inside of the exterior walls, between floors and under the roof; it has the role of preventing the penetration of moisture into the insulating material

● ANTICONDENSATION FOIL – used on the roof and exterior walls if they are plated with wood panelling

● THERMOSYSTEM WITH BASALTIC WOOL – façade basaltic wool with thickness of 100 mm, adhesive, reinforcing mesh and putty - 2 layers, decorative plaster included (white colour)

● PVC EXTERIOR JOINERY – 76 mm thick profile, five layers, triple glazing package

● INTRADOS PANELING – spruce panelling, impregnated

● EXTERIOR SPRUCE PANELING – spruce panelling, impregnated

● COVERING – tile type sheet / pre-folded sheet with gutters and related downpipes (including roofing laths)

The Ecokit house can be customized according to its destination, but especially taking into account the expectations and lifestyle of the future owner. We invite you to get in touch with our colleagues for an in-depth discussion about a personalized price offer for your home project:

Commercial department for RESIDENTIAL HOUSES:

Phone/Fax: +40 234 537 436

GSM: +4 0746 016 626

Email: ecokit@case-de-lemn.com