Passivhaus (from the German passive house, and from the English passive house standard) is a standard for housing construction originated from a conversation (in May 1988) between professors Bo Adamson") of Lund University, Sweden, and Wolfgang Feist") of the Institut für Wohnen und Umwelt (Institute of Housing and Environment[1]​).

It is based on building buildings that have great thermal insulation, rigorous infiltration control, and maximum indoor air quality, in addition to taking advantage of the sun's energy for better air conditioning, reducing energy consumption by around 70% (compared to conventional constructions).

It was developed from numerous research,[2]​ with funding from the German state of Hesse.

The Passivhaus house has very low energy consumption for heating and cooling. Compared to the current regulations in Germany, it spends approx. 80% less energy for thermal conditioning.

In the case of Passivhaus Spain, and since said country has a less severe climate, an improvement of 60% could be achieved with respect to the standard consumption of a new building, and thus the best possible energy classification would be achieved: class A.

According to the definition of the European research project “Passive-on”, the Passivhaus house in a Mediterranean climate has to meet the following conditions:[3]​.

The first building constructed to the Passivhaus standard was located in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1990, and was occupied in the following years. In September 1996 the Passivhaus-Institut was founded in Darmstadt with the aim of promoting and controlling this standard. It is estimated that thousands of houses have been built to the Passivhaus Standard.[4][5]​ many of these in Germany and Austria.

After this standard was validated in Darmstadt, the 'Economic Passive Houses Working Group' was created in 1996. A home that meets this standard is estimated to reduce heating energy demand by 90%. This development was only possible after highly energy efficient ventilation and glazing systems had been developed. In parallel, some passive houses were built in Stuttgart (1993), Naumburg, Hesse"), Wiesbaden, and Cologne "Cologne (Germany)") (1997).[6]​.

The products developed by "Passivhaus" were marketed in the European Union under the auspices of the CEPHEUS project. In the US, the first building built to the Passivehouse Standard was located in Urbana, Illinois in 2003,[7]​ and the first certified building was built in Waldsee&action=edit&redlink=1 "Waldsee (camp) (not yet drafted)"), Minnesota, in 2006.[8]​.