Passivhaus Buildings

How KoolShade® Enhances Passivhaus Buildings, lowers energy costs and reduces carbon emissions.

The Passivhaus standard is a rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency that results in ultra-low energy buildings requiring little energy for space heating or cooling.

Its core principles are:

Superb Insulation: Minimising heat loss in winter and cool environments.
Airtight Construction: Eliminating unmanaged air leakage.
Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR): Providing fresh, filtered air while recovering heat from exhaust air.
High-Performance Windows: Typically triple-glazed, with insulated frames.
Thermal Bridge - Free Design.

KoolShade® is the most effective way to enhance these attributes and deliver instantly cooler, passive buildings in a sustainable and highly cost-efficient way.

KoolShade® is maintenance free and has very long life span of 60 years+.

The Overheating Problem:

The very features that make Passivhaus buildings so efficient in winter can become a liability in summer or in warmer climates. The problem is not with the standard itself, but with its misapplication or a lack of holistic design for specific climates.

Solar Heat Gain: The large south-facing glazing (in the Northern Hemisphere) used for passive solar gain in winter admits massive amounts of solar radiation in the summer. While triple glazing has a lower Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) than single glazing, it is still a significant source of heat.

Airtight Envelope: The building is effectively a sealed thermos. Once heat gets in (from the sun, appliances, and occupants), it has very few ways to escape naturally. Unlike a traditional building where air leakage provides some cooling, a Passivhaus traps the heat.

Internal Heat Gains: Heat from occupants, lighting, cooking, and electronic devices may have nowhere to go, further exacerbating the temperature rise.

The Ventilation Paradox and Risk of Toxic Conditions:

This is where the situation can become counter-intuitive and potentially hazardous.

The Paradox:

MVHR systems are designed for ventilation, not cooling. Its primary job is to provide fresh air and recover heat. Standard MVHR units do not have cooling coils. Therefore, when it's hot outside, the MVHR system will bring in hot air. The heat recovery core may slightly temper this, but it will not cool it. You are mechanically pumping hot air into the building.

How KoolShade® Resolves These Issues

KoolShade® is not a traditional fabric but a patented micro-louvred technology. It is an exterior solar shading system made of incredibly fine, bronze alloy wefts woven into a fabric mesh. Its effectiveness comes from its unique ability to provide three crucial functions simultaneously:

Glare Control:

It diffuses harsh direct sunlight, eliminating glare on screens and surfaces.

View-Through:

Unlike solid shades or blinds, the mesh is open enough to maintain a connection to the outside. You can see out clearly, but from the outside, the façade appears opaque or softly shaded.

Spectrally-Selective Solar Rejection:

This is the key. KoolShade® is designed to reflect the invisible near-infrared (NIR) radiation (which is pure heat) while allowing visible light to pass through.

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