What is the living in a bio-passive house like? (FAQ)
1. Can the house really remain warm without a heating system ?
The passive houses that were tested and are inhabited now may be considered to be cogently verified. Even under the moderate European climatic conditions it is possible to build the houses with such a low energy consumption for heating the minimum of added heat, heating the fresh air, would be enough for keeping the house warm and comfortable also in winter. The measurements in the passive houses shown energies needed for heating may be exactly specified in advance, while the supposed level of consumption shall correspond with the real average consumption, even regardless the number and behaviour of the inhabitants.
2. Is not the passive house too expensive ?
Today, there are companies abroad offering passive houses for a price comparable to that one of standard structures. After all, in general, better quality of the components of passive house components has the tendency to be reflected in higher price. After the assessment of the cost efficiency of an investment to passive house structure it shall be necessary to consider the quantity of saved energy or the other benefits. For example, the inhabitants of such a house in Germany not only save EUR 511 - 1023 per year in energy costs, but they have also tax benefits and supports in the form of other special allowances. The sum of all the factors makes passive houses more economical than the conventional structures in some European countries. Under the contemporary Slovak conditions, the costs of the construction of a passive house shall return in the form of energy saving approximately after 20-30 years. However, we can hope there shall be a progress in this field also in Slovakia and the environment-friendly structures would be supported also in our place. Contemporary, the state subsidizes the solar panel mounting and the other benefits shall be added also upon the incentive of the European Union.
3. Is it possible to open the windows in a passive house ?
Of course, the inhabitants may open the windows any time, however they probably would not feel the need to do so since the passive house is permanently supplied with fresh air through a venting system. As opposed to window venting, the fine filters in the venting system shall keep the dirt and pollution outside. Air quality inside the house is thus always perfect, even then the inhabitants are out and windows and doors are not open at all. Of course, as in every house, when you leave the window open for a long time, internal air temperature shall perceptibly drop down and the heating energy consumption shall rise up.
4. People are often restrained when it comes to the use of venting system. Are there no problems with bacteria, noise and when projecting ?
The venting system in a passive house is a system supplying fresh air, not the air-conditioning system recycling the internal air. Bacteria propagation is the problem of recirculation air systems, but only in the case they are badly maintained. The noise of ventilator and flaps is almost completely eliminated by antivibration insulations, acoustic padding of pipes and the low speed of air flow. Air inlets are arranged alonside ceiling, where they are uniformly located above the room in such intervals you can hardly spot them.
5. Is not the passive house a complicated hi-tech house ?
No, the passive house is very user-friendly and its equipment is easy to control. Ventilation system has lesser control than the common TV set. The passive house is so simple from technological point of view you would not need anyone for filter replacement even, since you can easily manage it once a year by yourselves.
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