Passive House
Certifications and Programs - Home Energy and Building Envelope pillar
Also known as: Passivhaus, PHI
International ultra-low-energy building standard. Requires under 0.6 ACH50 airtightness, super-insulation, and heat recovery — dramatically beyond Ontario code.
Passive House (Passivhaus) is the international ultra-low-energy building standard developed in Germany. Certification requires blower door under 0.6 ACH50 (about 1/5 the leakage of a current Ontario new build), continuous thermal envelope with no thermal bridging, certified Passive House windows, and an HRV with at least 75% recovery. Annual heating demand must be under 15 kWh/m2. About 40 certified Passive House projects exist in Ontario as of 2026, mostly custom builds. Adds 5-15% to construction cost versus standard new build.
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