This is a unique opportunity for students at UK universities to gain essential skills and knowledge to design for Net Zero using the Passivhaus approach, and add the Certified Passivhaus Designer accreditation to your CV at a fraction of the price of the industry-professional course.

Through a series of modules you'll gain a deeper understanding of the Passivhaus standard, and how to design and detail the building envelope and services to create sustainable, low energy buildings. You'll also be introduced to Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) software, completing a whole PHPP and understanding how to use it effectively to interrogate design.

1. Understand the Passivhaus standard and how it is achieves high building performance.
2. Recognise the impact of design choices and how decisions on building form, airtightness, thermal bridging, insulation, and glazing affect performance.
3. Assess the impact of construction choices, considering multiple construction methods and how to detail common elements.
4. Define design strategies to prevent summer overheating, understand the design choices and how occupants interact with them.
5. Explore the principles of effective ventilation in buildings, how to create efficient systems that provide great indoor environments.
6. Understand what makes efficient heating & hot water systems, from heat pump specification to distribution systems.
7. Complete energy modelling using PHPP (Passivhaus Planning Package) software and gain proficiency inusing it for design and analysis.
8. Understand the role of a Passivhaus Designer/Consultant, what their responsibilities are and how to collaborate effectively on Passivhaus projects.
9. Prepare thoroughly for the Certified Passivhaus Designer/Consultant exam with essential techniques and revision.

Course Modules:

Building Physics and Economics Essentials (3.5 hours)

Learn essential equations and principles that you'll apply later in the course.

Building Fabric (30 hours over 5 days)

Explore concepts including heat transfer, energy balance of buildings and what is needed to achieve thermal comfort and avoid summer overheating, learning how each of the required values can be calculated and what this means in practice for building design. You will learn how Passivhaus construction differs to standard practice, what’s required to achieve airtightness and thermal bridge free construction and understand how successful design follows through to what happens on site. Practical construction examples and guidance throughout show you what good looks like.

Building Services for Passivhaus (15 hours over 2 days)

You'll cover concepts, calculations and commissioning for ventilation design, heating systems and hot water distribution and a review of Primary Energy Renewable. Explore building services used in Passivhaus and what's different to business as usual, learning how to interrogate services design at a high level and understand how services requirements can influence the overall building design.

PHPP - Introduction to Passivhaus Planning Package software (18 hours over 3 days)

We'll guide you through the PHPP software and how to complete a whole PHPP spreadsheet, developing your understanding of the inputs, parameters and implications for building design. A student PHPP licence is included in the fees.

Exam Preparation (12 hours over 2 days)

We support you to prepare fully for the exam, guide you through what to expect during the exam itself and provide exam technique and tips, plus practice questions and a mock exam.

Tutorials

Small group tutorial sessions throughout the course allow you to get support on any specific areas of concern. Post questions in the online forum about any of the topics covered so far and join a live drop-in session with the trainers.

Final exam

A 1.5-hour online exam, open book so you can use your own notes for support.

Want to know more? Watch our Q&A session with Sally Godber below

Students - Current Built Environment students at ANY UK university at undergraduate or master's level – predominantly aimed at architecture and building design students, we welcome interest from other relevant disciplines.

Prerequisites: You must have completed Coaction’s DESIGN PERFORMANCE FOR CLIMATE ACTION (DPfCA) before starting this course – this is free to access for all RIBA-accredited architecture schools, or if you are a student on a non-RIBA accredited course, this can be purchased for £180 (incl VAT), bookable at time of registration for the Designer course. Please contact us if you require further information.

Is your course RIBA accredited? Check here before booking.