Can you open the doors and windows in a Passive House? There is no such thing as a Passive House door so to say, but rather doors that offer the airtightness and insulation levels necessary. And yes, you can open their doors and windows just as they would in a traditional home.

Passive Houses and buildings are extremely comfortable in all seasons. That’s because there are no drafts, temperature variance is extremely narrow, even near doors and windows. An active, balanced ventilation makes for superb indoor air quality – this is one of the Passive House’s hallmarks.

According to Passipedia, during warm periods, opening your doors and windows in Passive House is the easiest, cheapest, most effective, and environmentally friendly way of cooling your building, at least in climates, in which the external temperatures cool down during the night.

Even during cold periods, sometimes it may be nice to be able to open the doors and windows in Passive House to let in some fresh air, for example during a party.

Don’t worry, monitoring results suggest that there is little risk of Passive Houses not getting warm or requiring significantly more energy for heating due to users keeping the doors and windows open.

There is no need to fear that „human errors” might cause problems, even when bedroom windows are tilted all night long during winter.

In this case, the only negative effect is a slight increase in heating energy.

To know more: 6 reasons why you still need windows that open