Record number of products get passive house certification

The institute presented certificates for a range of new products at the BAU 2013 trade fair in Munich in January.
 
"Anyone building a passive house today has a wide range of high quality products to choose from," said Professor Wolfgang Feist, director of the institute. He said that in the past few years, veteran manufacturers have improved their products, while new suppliers had entered the market too.

"As a result, a great variety of building components required for passive house are now available and, in many cases, these components have become cheaper."

At the end of 2012 passive house designers could choose from over 100 certified ventilation units and nearly 100 window frames.

The Passive House Institute tests and certifies products with regard to their suitability for use in passive house buildings. The institute said that its certification guarantees "the highest standard of thermal comfort when used in any energy efficient building".

At the BAU trade fair in Munich, certificates were presented to companies including Schöck Bauteile for thermal insulation, Schueco for their curtain wall facade, Raico Bautechnik for their aluminium window frame and Schiedel for their extract air system.