There’s still big potential to make building cheaper, including building of passive houses. If the passive house building is optimalised and uncomplicated, It can be much cheaper than classic building. This paper analyses the building of family passive house in the Czech Republic step by step by the author himself.

Over 5000 buildings in Austria have been constructed in the passive standard. In the future, a considerable part of new constructions should be build in the passive standard. The goal is to have all subsidised residential buildings built in the passive standard by 2015. The aim of the study was to learn from the first residential complexes of passive buildings. The main questions were: Do the passive buildings meet the ambitious expetations of the project? How satisfied are the people living in them? What additional construction costs can be expected and what are the actual energy savings compared to conventional residential complexes?

The quality of a wooden building depends (among other things) on the materials of the supporting structures. Within a research project, load tests were carried out on two different wood and concrete roofing structures that used recycled materials.

As in other countries, in Norway energy remediation is carried out mostly on an average level. For a decade, this has blocked highly effective energy saving measures in public housing because better energy remediation measures pay off only after a long time. Myhrerenga is the first block of flats in Norway renovated according a passive house concept.

Low energy (LEB) and passive buildings (PB) are becoming standard for new constructions in EU countries. They aren't experiments anymore, but absolutely ordinary mass production of sophisticated residential buildings. Only in Germany, Austria and Switzerland there are already thousands of buildings that meet the passive standard and their number doubles every year. The cost of passive buildings is only 5-7 % higher than those of conventional ones, and yet, their consumption of energy and heating is up to 90 % lower! Part 4 about circulation system air heating system with a controlled proportion of ventilation air and heat recovery, and some design principles for design and ventilation NED EPD.

The article describes some of the results of the research project R&D SP3g522107 – Full renovation of panel buildings in the low energy standard, which was carried out by EkoWATT with the support of the Ministry of the Environment in the years 2007-2010. One of the main instruments described is the parametric model, which allows the evaluation of a large sample of virtually generated building probabilistic methods, a case study of a renovation of a panel building to a passive standard using a grant with a 8 year investment return and also, an internet application that easily allows to add a panel building to a computer model and test the effects of the saving measures.

Development of buildings with wooden structures in the Czech Republic relates to development of low-energy buildings. But there is still general public that is affraid of these constructions because of the fire danger. It is seldom known that wood is fire resistant very well, especially in the point of wiev the static resistance and solidity. In case of fire, in contrast to steel, wood does not lose its static resistance and solidity. The rest of a profile is usualy still able to care the waighting.

Low energy (LEB) and passive buildings (PB) are becoming standard for new constructions in EU countries. They aren't experiments anymore, but absolutely ordinary mass production of sophisticated residential buildings. Only in Germany, Austria and Switzerland there are already thousands of buildings that meet the passive standard and their number doubles every year. The cost of passive buildings is only 5-7 % higher than those of conventional ones, and yet, their consumption of energy and heating is up to 90 % lower! Part 3 about ventilation systems for normal buildinghs and EPD.

Unfortunately, the issue of impact noise transfer between floors is still sidelined. The trasnfer of impact noises can happen between directly neighbouring areas and also between spaces separated by other rooms. The solution to this can be very expensive and in some cases, difficult to carry out (e.g. floors connected by stairways or elevator shafts). It is therefore advisable to consult someone with expertise in acoustics during the design phase.

One of the way how to recognize quality of buildings are methods for sustainable buildings classification. SBToolCZ is a certification method for complex building quality classification according to sustainable buildings principles – including environmental, social and economic criterions. The SBToolCZ method is based on the international SBTool system. Criterions and requirements are being modified according to standards development on the international level. SBToolCZ was developed on Faculty of civil engineering (Czech Technical University Prague), CIDEAS centre.

Low energy (LEB) and passive buildings (PB) are becoming standard for new constructions in EU countries. They aren't experiments anymore, but absolutely ordinary mass production of sophisticated residential buildings. Only in Germany, Austria and Switzerland there are already thousands of buildings that meet the passive standard and their number doubles every year. The cost of passive buildings is only 5-7 % higher than those of conventional ones, and yet, their consumption of energy and heating is up to 90 % lower! Part 2. about regulation ventilation system.

The paper focuses on explaining the causes of defects in ceramic materials that were applied in a seemingly stable substructure or layer. It brings attention to volume changes and also to elastic and plastic deformations of reinforce concrete floor structures, which can cause enough stress in surface layers consisting of tiles to lead to cracking or delamination. The examples show how and under what conditions these defects are manifested.

In Austria there is also a wide range of programs that are provided by both the state and the different federal regions.

Subsidy programs to promote the reduction of energy consumption and to increase the use of renewable energy sources are available not only in the Czech Republic but also in our neighbouring countries. Let's have a look at the possibilities of financial support are available in Germany field of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

Low energy (LEB) and passive buildings (PB) are becoming standard for new constructions in EU countries. They aren't experiments anymore, but absolutely ordinary mass production of sophisticated residential buildings. Only in Germany, Austria and Switzerland there are already thousands of buildings that meet the passive standard and their number doubles every year. The cost of passive buildings is only 5-7 % higher than those of conventional ones, and yet, their consumption of energy and heating is up to 90 % lower!

In 2007 we worked on the design for a energy passive construction for the nursery and gyms in Slivenec and a proposal to link the entire complex, where the nursery and the gym would be part of the already existing school site. A building permit was issued at the time for the completion and renovation of one of the pavilions of the elementary school. Within our design, we considered the completion of this pavilion and we included it in the architectural study of the whole design. Even though we were not counting on it, in the end, we got the first commission to revise the project for the completion and reconstruction of this pavilion, so it would become an energy efficient building according to our architectural modifications.

Deficiencies in the floors of collective parking spaces are often claimed. How are these defects caused by an improper design of the structure? Requirements of developers for the maintenance of the floors of the parking spaces. Requirements for floors of collective parking spaces within the law and standards. Recommendations for the design of collective parking spaces.

At the moment, an amendment is being prepared for the ČSN 73 0540-2 standard. The proposed changes have still not been made public, but are being in final period before publication. So it is good time to introduce at least some expected changes.

Passive buildings offer very good comfort combined with very low energy consumption. The excellent viability of this concept has been proven by the thousands of passive buildings that have been built. However, planning, design and construction supervision must be careful. The Passivhaus Institute (PHI) offers certification of buildings in order of assure sufficient levels of comfort and energy savings. In addition, they have also introduced a new certification that currently in pilot stage: EnerPHit, for the renovation of older buildings using passive building components. Along with this quality assurance for buildings and PHI also offers certifications for a wide range of products suitable for passive buildings, among which are window frames and ventilation units. Even architects and passive building consultants can get certified by the PHI. In the following text we will present the certification criteria and procedures.