The Passive House (or Passivhaus) standard is based on five core principles aimed at creating ultra-energy-efficient buildings with exceptional comfort and indoor air quality:

1. Superinsulation: Passive buildings feature significantly thicker and higher-quality insulation than conventional buildings. This minimizes heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer, drastically reducing the need for active heating and cooling.
2. Airtight Construction: Passive buildings are built to be extremely airtight, preventing unwanted drafts and air leakage. This ensures that the controlled ventilation system can effectively manage indoor air quality and energy efficiency.
3. High-Performance Windows and Doors: Passive buildings use high-performance windows and doors with triple glazing and insulated frames. These elements maximize solar heat gain in winter while minimizing heat loss, and they also help to reduce noise pollution.
4. Thermal Bridge-Free Design: Thermal bridges are areas where heat can easily escape through the building envelope. Passive House design eliminates or minimizes these bridges through careful detailing and the use of insulating materials, ensuring a continuous thermal envelope.
5. Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV): Passive buildings use a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery. This system continuously supplies fresh, filtered air while extracting stale air, and it recovers most of the heat from the outgoing air to preheat the incoming air, maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature and excellent air quality.

By adhering to these five principles, Passive Houses achieve remarkable energy efficiency, often using up to 90% less energy for heating and cooling compared to standard buildings. They also offer superior indoor comfort, with consistent temperatures, draft-free interiors, and excellent air quality.