Passivhaus in Austria

Passivhaus in Austria

In the alpine climate of Austria, high-performance building technologies have been implemented successfully to offer resilience against cold climates.

Schiestlhaus, a Passivhaus-standard building in an alpine climate located on the Hochschawb mountain in Austria, was built to withstand extreme temperatures and operate year-round off the grid.

A Passivhaus is a superinsulated house that meets a strict airtightness standard of 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 pascals. The wood-framed home has double-stud walls that are 16 inches thick and have at least 10 inches of exterior rigid foam. The Passivhaus standard also calls for thick roofs and triple-glazed windows to protect against extreme cold.1

1. Peter Erler. 2011. “Passive Houses in a Cold Climate,” thesis, Copenhagen School of Design and Technology; Oluwateniola Ladipo. 2016. “Prioritizing Residential High-Performance Resilient Building Technologies for Immediate and Future Climate Induced Natural Disaster Risks,” dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 25, 57.

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