PHPP calculation

We usually hear about the PHPP calculation the apropos of passive houses... but what is it exactly?

The passive house designing program, namely the PHPP (Passivhaus Projektierungs Paket) is a software, developed by the German Passive House Institute, this software was made to calculate during the planning phase that the building will pass the required passive house values. Apart from the controlling function it is a help to the architects and building engineers, because it shows them, how the building's energy balance will change with the varying of the different parameters.

All in all, it is a kind of energy certification whose calculation method is different from the hungarian building energy regulation's method, so we can't directly compare them.

What are the main differences between PHPP and the hungarian calculation (regulated by 7/2006 TNM)?

1. Due to the Hungarian regulation we calculate with the inner measures of the enclosing structure of the building while in PHPP we have to use the external measures.

2. More about the passive house requirements: The primary energy ratio at detached houses calculates only with the demanded energy of heating, DHW and if the cooling or ventillation are artificial we have too add it, due to the Hungarian regulation. In PHPP, besides the previous items, we have to calculate the energy demand for all of the appliances, such as the washing machine, dishwasher, laptops, etc. The approach is completely different.

3. The PHPP calculation is more detailed. For example: the climatic datas of the realization place are have to be given, the exact length and type of the building engineering system's ducts and cables, it is not enough to know that the windows are triple or double glazed, we have to settle the solar heat gain coefficient and the parameters of the installation, the thermal bridges, and we have to take account of the thermal conductivity of the ground also, etc.

4. We can personalize more sophisticatedly the probable usage of the building than in the Hungarian regulations: besides the desired air temperature, we can settle what temperature and how much heated water we would like to use, what kind of requirements should we measure the HHVAC system to and what kind of appliances will we exactly use.

In what cases worth to choose PHPP calculation?

We recommend particularly to make a PHPP calculation for low-energy houses in the planning phase. It is worth the niggling if we can use the results in deciding some questions of the designing and construction. The low energy is important bacause if it is not a low energy building, these details won't affect the quality of the building. We think it is important to emphasize that it is not only worth to make the calculation in case of passive houses. The difference is significant: if we would like to qualify the building, we have to send the calculation to the German Passive House Institute in Darmstadt, they ispect and certify it, and in the structurally complete state of the building, they make the airtightness test, namely the Blower-door test. The price of the qualification is approxiately 1850 euros (net price). If our goal is not the qualification, just to make a well reasoned low energy building, then we can make a calculation as a part of the planning just for us. We have this PHPP software (which is an excel table with multiple sheets) and we have calculated with this a couple of times, but the official certification can be made with the Hungarian regulation which is more simple than the PHPP and we have the authority of the chamber of engineers to make this.

We don't settle the price of the PHPP calculation because, mostly it is a part of a complex service, included in designing and/or consultation.