User talk:Thermal-contractors

I think this article is misleading. The Passivhaus standard refers to the airtightness of the building envelope without trickle vents, flues etc. open. In other words, when you build the envelope you are aiming to have as little infiltration/exfiltration occurring 'accidentally' as possible round the sides of window frames, and so on.

The other figures refer to the recommendations for ventilation rates - i.e. 'deliberate' exfiltration/infiltration. So, for example, in a wet room or a kitchen, you need to vent the humid air as quickly as possible, whereas in a storage area, no humid air is generated, so the recommended ACH is lower.

It doesn't make sense to discuss the two as if the ACH for the building envelope and the ACH for ventilation rates are the same thing.