Using DesignPH for Passive House Design

Designing a Passive House can be challenging. designPH was developed to simplify the design process for achieving the Passive House standard. The designPH plug-in for SketchUp provides a 3D modelling interface that works together with the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). Users can create a building model, assign building components, and select a location. A simplified annual energy calculation provides a quick test of the design. Once a compliant design is achieved, key building characteristics can be exported for integration into PHPP.

In this 6 week online course, participants will learn how to use designPH for the design and certification of Passive House buildings. Participants will be guided step-by-step through the building design process, from building model creation to exporting to PHPP. A major focus will be on iterative design to achieve the Passive House criteria. A case study will provide participants with practical experience in completing and documenting a designPH model for building certification.

Course Objectives:

  1. Create a 3D model of a building in Sketchup
  2. Determine key building characteristics, including areas, volumes, and shading
  3. Learn how to use the designPH interface and access the components database
  4. Assign building components and performance data to the building model
  5. Calculate a simplified annual energy balance for the building
  6. Learn how to iteratively refine the model to achieve the Passive House criteria.
  7. Export building characteristics and import them into PHPP
  8. Capture and document data and calculations for Passive House certification
  9. Gain practical experience in completing a designPH model for a residential development

Intended Audience: architects, developers, self-builders, building energy modellers and other building professionals.

Prerequisites: Participants must have a familiarity with Excel and basic building heat loss calculations.

Optional Course Extension: Course participants wishing to further refine their modelling skills will have the opportunity to submit models they complete after the course. Feedback will be provided on these models at an additional charge per model.

Course Requirements: Laptop with PHPP v9.6a, Sketchup v8-2018, designPH v.1.5.0, and MS Excel (or equivalent), all preloaded.
For further details on designPH, visit: http://www.designph.org/

Google Sketchup can be downloaded here.

Schedule: The course is structured into 3 sessions over the course of 6 weeks. Each session requires about 4-6 hours of commitment. You are invited to complete the sessions at your own pace but it is recommended to keep a schedule of 2 weeks per session. Access to the online platform will begin upon enrollment and will end 6 weeks after, however, all student resources including lecture slides will be available for download for future reference. The course is currently open for continuous enrollment.

Further Education Training: The designPH course is recognized by PHI as further education training for Certified Passive House Designers/Consultants with 16 CPs under the ID: K087-2018-CA. If you require a confirmation of completion please email: [email protected]

See: https://service.passivehouse.com/en/profis//advanc...

iPHA affiliated members discount: A 10% discount is available for iPHA affiliated members. Please email: [email protected] for coupon code.


Your Instructor


Andrew Peel
Andrew Peel
Andrew’s primary areas of expertise are in low carbon buildings and renewable energy. His professional and academic experience ranges from consultancy, program management, authoring technical and non-technical articles, course and lecture delivery, and technical research.

Andrew provides Passive House and sustainability consultancy, certification, and training services to the building sector. Prior to forging out on his own, Andrew worked in a variety of capacities in Europe. These included managing the UK Government’s innovative carbon saving technologies scheme and the Energy Saving Trust’s Best Practice Helpline. He also managed and delivered Passive House, Code for Sustainable Homes, wind turbine development, and thermal modelling projects as well as organizing Passive House study tours. Further activities included contributing to the development of the UK Government’s housing energy calculation methodology (SAP) and the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP).

Andrew’s previous career was as an electrical engineer. The leap into sustainability came with the completion of a MSc in Renewable Energy. While writing his Master’s thesis, Andrew worked at the Passivhaus Institut in Germany, where the foundations of his Passive House and energy efficiency expertise were laid. Andrew is one of only a handful of Canadian-based Passive House certifiers accredited by the German Passivhaus Institut.



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