Passive House

Paarhammer triple glazed windows and doors were used in one of Australia’s first passive houses built in Castlemaine, Victoria.

A movement that first began in Germany in the late 1980s, passive houses are ultra-low energy buildings, designed and built with a low or even negligible ecological footprint. There are currently about 25,000 to 30,000 passive houses all over the world.

Designed by Danilo Paglialonga together with owner Karl, the passive house was built to provide an affordable home that could meet the environmental challenges of a changing climate at minimal cost to the planet. The key strategies followed to achieve this objective included low embodied energy, renewable resources, recyclability, minimal waste, and minimal need for ongoing heating and cooling.

One of the requirements of the passive house standard is very little energy consumption (less than 120kWh/m² per year) and very low air infiltration. Excessive air leakage leads to unnecessary heat loss or gain and discomfort. Paarhammer products use a multi-point locking system for windows and doors, which is almost airtight and increases the safety aspect as well. Low air exchange also means higher energy efficiency and much lower energy bills, a win for the owners and the environment.

Paarhammer has since joined Passive House Australia and supplied windows and doors for a number of other Passive Houses.