Books we recommend for anyone designing, building, or modeling Passive House buildings, each with a note on why it’s on the shelf and where to find it. PHN’s own research is on the Reports page.
On this page: Start here · Design and detailing · Energy modeling · Buildings around the world
Start here
What Passive House is and how it’s done, for anyone new to it.
Book
An Introduction to Passive House
Justin Bere
By Justin Bere, this book remains introductory but covers important angles that people bring to the table, teasing out fact from myth. In so doing, as Dr. Wolfgang Feist notes in the book’s Foreword, Justin uses the language of the architect to make the physics of high-performance building accessible to clients, architects, engineers, and builders.
Book
The Passivhaus HandbookA practical guide to constructing and retrofitting buildings for ultra-low energy performance
Janet Cotterell and Adam Dadeby
Written by Janet Cotterell and Adam Dadeby, this book provides a clear explanation of the Passive House methodology and the skills required to deliver it. Every page is packed with details, diagrams, pictures, and real-world examples. It is a remarkably exhaustive yet succinct and entirely useful reference book.
Book
Passive Architecturestrategies, experiences & viewpoints in Belgium
Passive House Platform (PMP)
Initiated by the non-profit Passive House Platform (PMP) to document the experiences, knowledge, and results of the rapidly expanding Passive House sector in Brussels, this work offers a comprehensive overview of project delivery from multiple perspectives. Introductory, to highly technical aspects and legal issues are discussed, all illustrated with sophisticated, well-designed Passive House buildings. It will help anyone get started.
Design and detailing
Assemblies, junctions, and details, from grade to roof.
Book
Understanding PassivhausA simple guide to Passivhaus detailing and design
Emma Walshaw
By Emma Walshaw, this book focuses on residential construction and is a master class in wood-frame and masonry Passive House enclosure design and detailing. Written for the immediate UK & Irish markets, the details are easily adaptable to any market. It starts with the basics, then provides an extensive array of details in 2D & 3D -all beautifully illustrated – and ends with real-world case studies. If you’re scratching your head about junction detail options, this book is for you.
Book
Details for Passive Houses: New Buildings
Austrian Institute for Healthy and Ecological Building
Produced by the Austrian Institute for Healthy and Ecological Building, written in German and English side by side, this is a very special volume that is perhaps more of a treat, like purchasing Le Corbusier’s Complete Works, but nevertheless provides adaptable information on assemblies, components, and materials – and the processes bound up with each. It can deepen your understanding of ecological building.
Book
Details for Passive Houses: Renovation
Austrian Institute for Healthy and Ecological Building
Produced by the Austrian Institute for Healthy and Ecological Building, it is written in German and English side by side and is structured similarly to the New Buildings volume. Given its focus on renovation, it is still useful but less so than the volume for new buildings.
Book
Passive House DetailsSolutions for High-Performance Design
Donald B. Corner, Jan C. Fillinger, and Alison G. Kwok
By Donald B. Corner, Jan C. Fillinger, and Alison G. Kwok, this book features 39 projects across a range of building scales, all located exclusively in the US. With a primary focus on the enclosure, extensive details from grade to roof are photographed, drawn, and explained, providing a range of reference points.
Energy modeling
The PHPP, step by step.
Book
PHPP IllustratedA Designer’s Companion to the Passive House Planning Package
Sarah Lewis
By Sarah Lewis, this book provides an invaluable, simplified guide to completing a project’s energy model. Using a real home in London, readers are given clear introductions to key concepts, a step-by-step walkthrough of the PHPP tabs, with illustrations, annotations, and advice that will make your first forays into the PHPP as a consultant as productive as possible.
Book
PHPP: Passive House Planning Package Manual
Passive House Institute
Produced by the Passive House Institute, this manual is for CPHD/C students and practitioners using the Imperial version of PHPP 10 and serves as a supplement to the online manual. PHN provides it at its cost via Barnes & Noble, printing and shipping one at a time.
Buildings around the world
Surveys of Passive House buildings, with their plans, details, and results.
Book
Passive House in Different ClimatesThe Path to Net Zero
Mary James and James Bill
By Mary James and James Bill, this book is a relatively early survey of Passive House construction around the world, covering a wide range of climates and dispelling the myth that Passive House is suitable only for certain climates. Generous photos, narratives, and drawings in plan, section, and detail make this an excellent addition to your library.
Book
The Greenest HomeSuperinsulated and Passive House Design
Julie Torres Moskovitz
By Julie Torres Moskovitz, this book is a beautiful survey of high-performance homes from around the world, with most being in the US. Containing construction and finished photos, plans, diagrams, and details, with specific performance values listed, this book is a valuable reference to keep on your shelf.
Know of something that belongs on these shelves? Tell us at info@passivehousenetwork.org.
