Thanks for your explanation David Learmonth‍. That's really helpful. ?


I for one though quite like having open windows which I'm guessing is a bit no no for a passivhaus!  Even in the winter I can't sleep unless the window is open a touch. I went on holiday to Dubai a few years ago and the worst thing about it was having to sleep in an air conditioned hotel room and not having any windows open. Not only did the noise of the unit keep me awake most of the night but I woke up feeling very dehydrated. ? As you can imagine, if you turn the air conditioning off, you soon heat up quite a bit!

David and Mark, thanks for the additional info.  With respect to your, (David) semi-political, comments and in danger of broadening the scope of this thread, I am very disappointed to see how few local developments even have solar panels on the roof or included as an option for customers.  I understand that housing building standards are re-visited every 10 years and that, even before the coalition, John Prescott's review, as Dep PM, rejected the proposal that solar panels be included in the national standards.  This was very disappointing for me as a dweller in East Anglia and I don't know the reasons why such measures were not included; however, it needs to be seen in the context that they were national standards.  The cost-effectiveness of putting solar panels on a house in southern England vs the north of Scotland is very different.  Nethertheless, national or regional standards now need to be included so that all carbon-friendly measures now become available for the consumer.