The Passive House is now 25 years old; to celebrate this, the International Passive House Conference is returning to Darmstadt – the city in Germany, in which this success story began.

On 22 and 23 April 2016, over a hundred speakers from all over the world will report on the latest projects relating to highly energy efficient construction and retrofits. But the anniversary will also serve as an occasion for a review, with the presentation of results relating to the durability of the individual building components of the first Passive House. The complete Conference programme is now available online. In addition, registration at the early booking rate is now possible.

When the first Passive House was built in Darmstadt 25 years ago, this was an experimental project. Today, the resulting standard for energy efficiency has become an integral part of construction activity; the reliable heating energy savings of up to 90 percent have confirmed themselves for tens of thousands of residents. This Standard is also regarded as the ultimate benchmark for public buildings in a growing number of towns and cities – whether in Frankfurt, Brussels or New York. At the same time, Passive House is already meeting EU requirements for future climate-neutral construction.

In addition to the long-term results, the programme of the International Passive House Conference 2016 also covers many other topics. Among other things, buildings combining efficiency and renewable energy and thus meeting the criteria for the Passive House Plus or Passive House Premium classes will be presented. As for building components, home ventilation will be one of the focal points. This year’s “Component Award 2016” will also be presented in this context. The main regional focus this time will be on North America, China and warm climate zones.

The lecture programme at the Conference will be supplemented with a series of workshops and excursions to Passive House buildings in Darmstadt and its surroundings – including the world’s first Passive House that was built in the Kranichstein district 25 years ago. Leading manufacturers of Passive House components will demonstrate their newest products at the accompanying specialists’ exhibition.

The International Passive House Conference has been held by the Passive House Institute annually at different venues since 1996. The event will be taking place in Darmstadt again for the first time since the premiere 20 years ago. This year’s Conference will be organised in cooperation with the City of Darmstadt, the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and the University of Innsbruck. The Conference will be held under the auspices of the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Energy, Transport and Regional Development of the German State of Hessen. Some of the lectures will also be embedded into the EU-funded project EuroPHit (step-by-step energy-efficient retrofitting).