Winter performance of certified passive houses In a Temperate Maritime Climate – nZEB Compliant? Mediterranean Green Buildings and Renewable Energy Forum

Near Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) are mandated across Europe for all dwellings built after 2020. As efforts increase to reduce winter heating demand and build low-energy and nZEB dwellings e.g. using the well-established passive house (PH) standardi , UK post occupancy analysis of low-energy dwellings (e.g. ii) has focused on dwellings in mainland UK, with publications on Northern Ireland PH dwellings primarily focusing on social housing (e.g. iii and iv). This paper presents recorded energy and Indoor Environmental Quality (I.E.Q) performance of owner occupied certified passive houses (PH) and contemporaneously constructed dwellings which comply with the minimum building regulations in the temperate maritime climate of Northern Ireland over the winter period. The potential of the PH in meeting nZEB is considered given that the cost of building to the nZEB standard has been shown to be comparable to meeting national building regulationsv.