Key activities

Distilling lessons from regional experience

The regions involved in PassREg are spread across the EU and have very different starting points. Regions such as Hanover, Brussels, and Tyrol stand as front runner regions already actively and successfully supporting the Passive House supplemented by renewables. Other regions, known in the project as aspiring regions, have a long way to go and need support. By investigating what makes the varied models front runner regions employ so successful as well as by making their successes more visible, the project aims to help other aspiring regions to become front runners themselves – taking, adapting and implementing best practice examples as well as the lessons learned throughout the project to facilitate the implementation of the EU’s 2020 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive on the basis of Passive House with renewable energy sources.

Learning from concrete examples

Individual projects will complement research on the regions in which they are built. These so-called beacon projects, real construction and refurbishment projects built in accordance with Passive House and supplied by renewable energies, are concrete case studie that also stand as shining examples within their areas. Select beacon projects in Italy and Germany will also be monitored throughout the project for building performance.

The 2014 Passive House Award adds further concrete case studies to the mix - exemplary buildings that show the way towards a low carbon future.

Training

Qualified architects, engineers and craftsmen are key to the successful and sustainable implementation of PassREg solutions and form the basis for each and every front runner model. Through the project, aspiring regions will develop long term training strategies based on the front runner successes and adapted to the local situation. The project does not serve to directly develop capacities in the aspiring regions through training activities, but will be given where needed using readily available material such as the Passive House Institute's Certified Passive House Designer and Certified Passive House Tradesperson programmes. 

Quality Assurance

To facilitate EU-wide uptake, infrastructure will be strengthened by supporting the availability of qualified materials, products and professionals on regional markets and by using and optimising existing Passive House building and component certification criteria for application in various EU climate zones. The experiences taken from participating regions along with lessons learnt from the project’s beacons will figure into a set of solutions that will make best practice accessible across the EU.