Passive building design is a type of construction in which the buildings passively work to regulate temperature without the use of any energy input. In other words, passive buildings are those that don’t require mechanical systems to keep them comfortable – they rely instead on their design and materials to do so.
There are a number of different strategies that can be employed in passive building design, but some common ones include using thermal mass to store heat energy, using natural ventilation and insulation to limit heat loss/gain, and orienting the building in relation to the sun to maximize solar gain in winter and minimize it in summer.
When done correctly, passive building design can result in very comfortable indoor environments with very low energy bills. In some cases, such as with Earthships (a type of passive solar house), it’s even possible to achieve net-zero energy status, meaning the home produces as much energy as it consumes over the course of a year.
