Are you the owner of a passive house? Show the Czechs what your living space is like!

Dozens of open passive houses across the Czech Republic and sharing owners who offer the general public the opportunity to come and see for themselves what living in such houses is like. This is the 11th edition of the International Passive House Open Days, which will take place this year from November 7 to 9, 2014. Registration for the event is currently open. Join in and show what your real life is like in a passive house.

The Passive House Days are an international event that was launched eleven years ago by the Passivhaus Institute from Darmstadt, Germany. Today, hundreds of passive houses are involved all over the world, from New Zealand to North America. The basic philosophy of the event remains the same in all countries - to explain to tens of thousands of curious visitors how passive houses work based on concrete experiences and informally show them what living in energy-efficient houses is really like. In the Czech Republic, more and more passive houses join this event year after year. Last year, there was a record 75.

“Many half-truths and speculations still circulate about passive houses in the Czech Republic. Allegedly, you cannot open the windows in them, they are overcrowded with modern technologies, the air quality is poor, and much more. This is, of course, not true. If you want to help the public see for themselves what is nonsense and what is not, register your passive house for the Open Passive House Days,” invites Jan Bárta, director of the Center for Passive Houses, which oversees this international event in the Czech Republic.

Both completed houses and those that are just before completion can participate in the Open Passive House Days. These can be family homes, apartment buildings, schools, kindergartens, administrative and various educational centers. The only requirement is that they must be buildings demonstrably built to passive standards, and the owner's, architect's, or designer's willingness to spend at least a few hours attending to curious visitors. The visit to passive houses is entirely at the discretion of their owners - they decide as masters of the house to what extent and under what conditions they will attend to their guests.

How to register your house for the Open Passive House Days:

• Fill out a simple form, no later than September 30, 2014. If you have any problems, write to [email protected]

• All participating houses must be registered in the Database of Passive Houses on the website of the Center for Passive Houses so that visitors can find them here. If your house is not listed, you can easily add it - just register and add your passive house. During registration, you will need to provide technical details about the house. Therefore, have your designer or another expert at hand.

“During last year's edition, nearly 1500 people visited almost eighty energy-efficient houses,” counts Jan Bárta. Visitors were most often interested in the basic principles of how passive houses work, their economic returns, and everyday life in them. Many owners were also able to answer very specialized technical questions. “Living in a passive house is becoming a lifestyle for many of them. They are proud of their quality houses, and even if they may not have professional technical education, they are interested in their functioning in detail,” explains Bárta.

The necessity to build buildings with low energy consumption is a long-term trend throughout the European Union. Thanks to the new energy legislation and the subsidy program New Green Savings, interest in energy-efficient architecture is rapidly rising here as well. The upcoming event, Open Passive House Days 2014, is an ideal opportunity for owners to share their experiences and for the general public to learn about energy-efficient living directly from those most knowledgeable about it.