To reduce consumption

Passive House

Passive houses are the future of energy-efficient living, as they reduce energy consumption to a minimum. Marles' passive manufactured houses combine environmental integrity with a high level of comfort, allowing you to control your energy consumption and save on living costs.

Passive construction

One of the essential elements in a passive house is the building envelope, where the thermal conductivity of the envelope must be the same for all elements. Therefore, it is recommended to provide adequate thermal insulation when building a passive house.

Getting the passive house design right

Excellent thermal insulation of all surfaces of the passive house (floor, circumference, roof)
Minimising or eliminating thermal bridges
Adapted heating system (heat pump, heat recovery)
Ventilation / heat recovery with return of exhaust air heat (transferred to fresh air entering the system) > 75%
Proper orientation of the house (living areas facing south or south-east)
Arrangement of rooms in the house (living areas facing south and south-east, technical areas facing north and north-west)
Size and arrangement of joinery
Location
Vegetation around the house
Adequate protection of glass surfaces (blinds, screens)

Why choose a passive house?

Low heating and cooling costs

Good living environment

Stable temperature in all rooms of the house

Transparent operation and system management

Constant inflow of clean and fresh air

Reduction of electricity costs

Ventilation and heating in a passive house
Ecological materials

A manufactured passive house offers exceptional energy efficiency, which allows for comfortable living and lower costs. High thermal insulation is achieved through a special wall construction with minimal thermal bridges and the use of natural insulation materials such as cellulose fibres, wood fibres, coconut, flax, hemp.

Controlled ventilation with waste air heat recovery is essential to ensure low heat loss. A passive house has an extremely low need for additional heat, as it is also efficiently heated by solar gains. At extremely low temperatures, hot-air heating or a heat pump can be used.

The passive building standard pursues the objective of reducing heat loss and minimising environmental impact. The Marles passive construction therefore combines energy efficiency, sustainability, and living comfort.

What you should know before you decide to build a passive house

The most important factors in the design of a passive house are: the thermal envelope, the location of the building, the proper implementation of ventilation and adequate airtightness.

Maximum thermal insulation and details without thermal bridges are essential (thermal transmittance U of all building elements is below 0.15 W/(m2K), even below 0.10 W/(m2K) is recommended for a free-standing single-family house).
The thermal transmittance of opaque parts of the envelope must be UPH < 0,10 W/m2K.
Exceptional airtightness, controlled by a pressure test (at Marles we perform airtightness testing of the building using a Blower Door testing device).
All primary energy consumption for heating, hot water and appliances must be < 120 kWh/m2a. Efficient use of electricity must be < 15 kWh/m2a.

Passive houses can be single-family houses and apartment buildings, office buildings, schools, preschools, sports halls, churches, and production buildings.

The passive house standard does not limit the content of the buildings, nor the size. Passive house construction is also promoted by the European Union, which is why various subsidies are available in different countries, including Slovenia. The Eco Fund of the Republic of Slovenia offers grants you can apply for.

The cost of living (heating and cooling the house) is incomparably lower than in a conventionally built house.