Passive house - Designing Homes for all seasons (fig opening skylights)

A recent Bloomberg article highlighted a growing issue in modern homes designed with large areas of glazing in passive house environments, without cross ventilation. As building consultant Winder explained:

“In one case, a family’s triple-glazed windows shattered in the heat. They feel they can no longer use their living area or invite friends over because the building was just too hot. And for people who are less mobile due to disabilities or sickness, rising temperatures in such buildings can be downright dangerous.”

This wasn’t simply a case of people forgetting to switch on the air conditioning. In some buildings, even air conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems were unable to cope with the amount of heat being generated inside. Once excessive solar heat enters a highly insulated, airtight building, cooling systems can struggle to remove it fast enough, particularly during prolonged heatwaves.

Recently, Auckland Skylights authored a report for a large social housing client examining practical ways to mitigate overheating caused by north/west facing glazing.

The report looked beyond simply installing larger cooling systems which tenants switch off due to affordability. It assessed retrofit passive cooling strategies like shading, awnings, blinds, opening skylights, solar control tinting, use of natural stack ventilation, solar extraction, attic space ventilation, night purging, and complementary mechanical ventilation with summer bypass. Remembering people on limited budgets, fan wattage drives cost and selecting products long term availability of parts, ease of replacement makes a huge difference.

Passive House design has transformed energy efficiency by reducing heat loss through high levels of insulation and airtight construction. However, these same design principles can become a disadvantage if overheating is not considered from the outset. Buildings which cannot naturally release heat become increasingly reliant on mechanical systems, and when those systems reach their limits or during a power outage the internal temperatures can quickly become uncomfortable or even unsafe.

The lesson is clear: the most resilient buildings are those that combine excellent insulation with effective passive heat management. Preventing unwanted heat from entering the building is often far more effective than trying to remove it afterwards. You also need built in safeguards should systems be overwhelmed so air can be extracted through natural ventilation

At Auckland Skylights, we take an independent approach to heat mitigation with easy to retrofit solutions using physics. Rather than recommending a single product, we assess the building as a whole and recommend practical combinations of passive and/or mechanical solutions tailored to each property. Often, relatively simple design changes can significantly improve comfort.

If your home, office or school becomes too hot during summer, or you’re planning a project with extensive glazing, talk to Auckland Skylights. We can help you retrofit by design a building that stays comfortable not just in winter, but throughout the hottest days of summer.

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