NSW Schools – full of potential

Passive House schools -feasibility study

Schools Infrastructure New South Wales have commissioned this report into the case for developing schools in NSW to the Passive House standard, using a using a currently under construction project as a prototype to test the concept against currently delivered construction. This report aims to establish the benefits of doing so, alongside the costs and risk, and to ascertain whether there is a rationale to further pursue this particular design approach as a means to enhance the offering of high quality, low-energy and healthy environments for children to learn. This report is a joint collaboration between Grün Consulting and Envirotecture.

The conclusions:

The current delivery of buildings has commendable design and performance targets; however, as shown, the potential for the constructed product to meet these aspirations is low. Thermal comfort, durability and hygiene are compromised under the current approach, largely attributable to the material selection and specification. All current design parameters are typical practice in the local industry.

The primary reasons for Passive House fall largely into three areas: health, economy and energy efficiency. One of the key strengths is that, to date, it is the only standard where the built performance matches the design predictions quite closely, i.e. that there is no performance gap. The opportunity presented to the stakeholders in this approach should not be underestimated, with health, learning and economic benefits available.

It is highly recommended that SINSW builds school buildings to the Passive House standard.