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89-571: The institute was founded by politician Johannes Rau (SPD) and scientist Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker (SPD) in 1990 and 1991 and is mainly financed by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia . The Wuppertal Institute collaborates with universities and institutes in Germany and abroad. It has formal cooperation agreements with the Lund University , the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of

178-524: A quality assurance and quality control test – this is implemented to ensure that the building continues to adhere to the regional criteria set forth by the PHIUS’ climate data. These tests and analyses of operative conditions are performed by PHIUS raters or verifiers. These are accredited professionals from the PHIUS that are able to perform on-site testing and inspections to ensure that the newly constructed building

267-648: A conversation in May 1988 between Bo Adamson of Lund University , in Sweden , and Wolfgang Feist of the Institut für Wohnen und Umwelt (Institute for Housing and Environment), in Darmstadt , Germany . Their concept was developed through a number of research projects with financial assistance from the German state of Hesse . Many of the early passive house builds were based on research and

356-426: A dual purpose 800 to 1,500 watt heating and/or cooling element integrated with the supply air duct of the ventilation system, for use during the coldest days. It is fundamental to the design that all the heat required can be transported by the normal low air volume required for ventilation. A maximum air temperature of 50 °C (122 °F) is applied, to prevent any possible smell of scorching from dust that escapes

445-487: A heat recovery rate of over 80% and high-efficiency electronically commutated motors (ECM) are employed to maintain air quality, and to recover sufficient heat to dispense with a conventional central heating system. Since passively designed buildings are essentially air-tight , the rate of air change can be optimized and carefully controlled at about 0.4 air changes per hour . All ventilation ducts are insulated and sealed against leakage. Some passive house builders promote

534-433: A high quality of life and are produced sustainably, globally and locally. One of the main elements is the development and market launch of products considered sustainable in terms of their entire life cycle as well as production processes optimized right the way along the added value chain . The research focuses on the social-ecological balance of entrepreneurial, social, and technological changes and innovations in line with

623-655: A long history of heart disease and died 11 days after his 75th birthday on 27 January 2006. The funeral took place on 7 February following a funeral act of state on the Dorotheenstadt cemetery in Berlin in the closest of family and friends. The maxim of Rau was "to reconcile, not divide". As his personal motto, Rau adopted the Confessing Church dictum "teneo, quia teneor" (I hold because I am held). In his acceptance speech after his election, Rau claimed "I never want to be

712-695: A nationalist but rather a patriot. A patriot is someone who loves his fatherland. A nationalist is someone who condemns the fatherland of others." The quote can be attributed to the French writer Romain Gary . Rau was awarded 15 honorary doctorates. In 2001, he received the Leo Baeck Medal for his humanitarian work promoting tolerance and social justice. Rau was known as a practising Christian (sometimes known as Bruder Johannes , "Brother John", in ridicule of his intense Christian position. He held lay positions in and

801-729: A scientist of the Wuppertal Institute, member of the Club of Rome, and lead author at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), directed the study “Sustainable Germany in a Globalized World”. It was published as a book in October 2008 by Friends of the Earth Germany ( BUND ), Church Development Service (Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst - EED) and " Friends of the Earth " to stimulate

890-435: A socially and ecologically just world can succeed. For this, it needs “Zukunftskunst” ("future art"), writes Schneidewind. It refers to the ability to combine cultural change, smart politics, new economic activity, and innovative technologies, and on this basis to make creative contributions to the implementation of the energy turnaround, mobility turnaround, food turnaround or sustainable change in cities. Uwe Schneidewind left

979-677: A summer holiday in the Austrian Alps. The book was accepted as a report to the Club of Rome , and was on the best-seller lists for several months. It has been translated into more than ten languages. Peter Hennicke studied and worked on using efficiency potentials in the field of energy use before he came to the Wuppertal Institute. He intensified research in this area as head of the Energy Division; later on, he succeeded Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker as president from 2000 to 2008. Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek,

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1068-457: A systems analysis approach. In the fields of energy and mobility, it explores what technical and social innovations will facilitate the transition to sustainable structures, what implications this process has and what chances it offers. It sees key challenges in the decarbonization of energy systems, the climate-friendly restructuring of energy-intensive industries, and the sustainable modernization of our cities. The following Research Units belong to

1157-410: Is adhering to the construction plans, created energy models, and desired operating conditions. The two standards (passive house and PHIUS+) are distinct and target different performance metrics and use different energy modeling software and protocols. In passive house buildings, the cost savings from replacing the conventional heating system can be used to fund the upgrade of the building envelope and

1246-603: Is also a member of the Johannes Rau Research Association and the Ecological Research Network (Ecornet). The Wuppertal Institute describes itself as an intermediary between science , economy and politics , meaning that its sustainability research design is application-oriented. It has the legal status of a non-profit limited company (gemeinnützige Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, according to German law). It receives basic funding from

1335-480: Is based in Wuppertal and employs approximately 250 workers. Two-thirds are research staff and come from a wide variety of background disciplines: natural and environmental sciences, geography, systems sciences, engineering, planning, law, economics, and political and social science. The staff consists of roughly as many men as women. The Berlin office promotes cooperation with scientific institutes and research partners in

1424-408: Is conducting ever more concrete research into how sufficiency strategies can be effective and how they can be used politically, in fields such as construction, energy or local politics. In summer 2018, the book "Die Große Transformation – Eine Einführung in die Kunst gesellschaftlichen Wandels" by Uwe Schneidewind was published. The book aims to find answers to the question of how the transformation to

1513-737: Is determined using metrics that represent a space where significant carbon and energy reduction overlap with cost-effectiveness. Overall, the PHIUS database includes more than 1,000 climate data sets for North America. The standard is based on five principles: airtightness , ventilation , waterproofing , heating and cooling, and electrical loads. Within these principles, projects must pass building specified blower door, ventilation airflow, overall airflow, and electrical load tests; buildings must also achieve other measures such as low-emission materials, renewable energy systems, moisture control, outdoor ventilation, energy efficient ventilation and space conditioning equipment. All buildings must also pass

1602-524: Is technically possible, the costs of meeting the passive house standard increase significantly when building in Northern Europe above 60° latitude . European cities at approximately 60° include Helsinki , Finland, and Bergen , Norway. London is at 51°; Moscow is at 55°. Achieving the major decrease in heating energy consumption required by the standard involves a shift in approach to building design and construction. Design may be assisted by use of

1691-511: Is used in Switzerland . Standards are available for residential properties, and several office buildings , schools , kindergartens and a supermarket have also been constructed to the standard. Energy efficiency is not an attachment or supplement to architectural design, but a design process that integrates with architectural design. Although it is generally applied to new buildings, it has also been used for renovations. In 2008, estimates of

1780-498: The 1999 German presidential election on 23 May 1999, he was elected President of Germany by the Federal Assembly of Germany to succeed Roman Herzog (CDU). On 1 July 2004, he was succeeded by Horst Köhler . In common with all other Federal presidents Rau was honored by a Großer Zapfenstreich . At his request the hymn "Jesus bleibet meine Freude" (literally "that Jesus remain my Joy", but commonly Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring )

1869-525: The Bundesrat in 1982/83 and 1994/95. In 1987, Rau was his party's candidate to become chancellor of Germany for the SPD, but he lost the elections against Helmut Kohl ’s Christian Democrats (CDU). In 1994, Rau was a candidate to become President of Germany but lost the 1994 German presidential election to Roman Herzog . In 1998, Rau stepped down from his positions as SPD chairman and Minister President, and in

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1958-689: The Canadian Prairies . The SRC and Leger houses were predated by the Lyngby, Denmark house (1975), developed by the Technical University of Denmark , and several homes were built between 1977 and 1979 based on the Lo-Cal house design (1976) developed by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign . The term passive can be partly attributed to William Shurcliff , an American physicist who contributed to

2047-528: The Fukushima reactor accident to abandon nuclear power generation and initiate the energy turnaround. Uwe Schneidewind became the third president of the institute on March 1, 2010. He took over as successor to Peter Hennicke after he had retired for more than two years. Schneidewind holds a professorship at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal . At the Wuppertal Institute, Schneidewind placed

2136-875: The Tsinghua University Beijing, the University of Osnabrück , the HafenCity University Hamburg , the Center for Environment and Energy Research and Studies (CEERS) in Teheran and the Bergische Universität Wuppertal . A cooperation agreement was also reached with the University of Kassel . Joint research projects with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Japan and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India are regularly conducted. The institute

2225-641: The WWII Manhattan Project , and in the 1970s became an advocate for energy-efficient home design: What name should be given to this new system? Superinsulated passive? Super-save passive? Mini-need passive? Micro-load passive? I lean toward ‘micro-load passive.’ Whatever it is called, it has (I predict) a big future. An early book explaining the concepts of passive house construction was The Passive Solar Energy Book by Edward Mazria in 1979. The eventual construction of four row houses (terraced houses or town homes) were designed for four private clients by

2314-579: The architectural firm Bott, Ridder and Westermeyer. The first passive house residences were built in Darmstadt in 1990, and occupied the following year. In September 1996, the Passivhaus-Institut was founded in Darmstadt to promote and control passive house standards. By 2010 more than 25,000 passive house structures were estimated to have been built. Most are located in Germany and Austria , others in various countries worldwide. In 1996, after

2403-549: The 'passive house' standards." The United Kingdom’s first passive house health centre in Foleshill was opened in November 2021. While some techniques and technologies were specifically developed for the passive house standard, others, such as superinsulation , already existed, and the concept of passive solar building design dates back to antiquity. There were other previous buildings with low-energy building standards, notably

2492-517: The 1970s, was for a low-energy building designed to exploit passive solar technologies and establish a comfortable indoor temperature with a low-energy requirement for heating or cooling. More recently the term has been used to indicate a building that is certified to meet the criteria for the passive house standard, including heating, cooling and primary energy demands in addition to airtightness, thermal comfort requirements and non-heating related energy demands. The passive house standard originated from

2581-406: The Berlin office. Since its foundation, the Wuppertal Institute has been working on visions for a sustainable, low-CO 2 society. Based on the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Germany by 80 percent by 2050, the Wuppertal Institute has developed various long-term scenarios for the German energy system. They serve as a basis for the long-term energy study of the German government and also

2670-721: The British Open University ). In 1977, Rau became Chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalia SPD and, in 1978, Minister President of the state, which he remained until 1998, with four successful elections for the SPD, which became strongest party in the Landtag each time and gained an absolute majority three times, in 1980, 1985, 1990 and finally 1995. From 1995 onwards, Rau led an SPD- Greens coalition in North Rhine-Westphalia. Rau twice served as President of

2759-750: The European Union's Ecodesign Directive , manufacturers will be required to make batteries and display replaceable and offer spare parts or updates for a minimum period. The Wuppertal Institute intensively accompanied the Federal Ministry of the Environment in the preparation of the environmental digital agenda and provided scientific advice. The scientific work of the institute is mainly conducted in four divisions, which are divided into Research Units. The Division Future Energy and Mobility Systems examines questions of technology and infrastructure , taking

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2848-602: The Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia , the sole owner of the Wuppertal Institute. The major part of its funding derives from third-party research projects. The Wuppertal Institute's clients cover governmental organizations ranging from local authorities to ministries at both state and national levels, business and industry ranging from medium-sized companies to corporate groups and industrial associations, civil society ranging from environmental associations to churches, and trade unions and foundations. The Wuppertal Institute

2937-582: The German Niedrigenergiehaus (low-energy house) standard, in addition to buildings constructed to the demanding energy codes of Sweden and Denmark . The passive house standard requires that the building fulfills the following requirements: The specific heat load for the heating source at design temperature is recommended, but not required, to be less than 10  W /m (3.17  btu /(h⋅ft )). These standards are much higher than houses built to most normal building codes. For comparisons, see

3026-588: The Leger House in Pepperell, Massachusetts (1977). The Saskatchewan Conservation House was a project of the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) with Harold Orr as its lead engineer. The team independently developed a heat recovery air exchanger, hot water recovery, and a blower-door apparatus to measure building air-tightness. Notably, the house was designed for the extreme −40°C to +40°C climate of

3115-550: The North”), commissioned by BUND and Misereor, was to remedy this: The Wuppertal Institute team, headed by Reinhard Loske and Raimund Bleischwitz , pioneered a new methodology. Beginning with an estimate of the Earth's carrying capacity, the " environmental space ", the study developed leading principles to help Germans avoid overusing the environmental space to which they are "entitled". The principles are based on concepts such as efficiency and sufficiency . Prof. Dr. Wolfang Sachs ,

3204-713: The Passive House Institute United States (PHIUS) in 2007. Afterwards, the PHIUS has released their PHIUS + 2015 Building Standard and has certified over 1,200 projects and 1.1 million square feet (100,000 m ) across the United States. In 2019, Park Avenue Green, a low-income housing building in New York was built with passive house standards. The building later became the largest certified passive house in North America. Ireland's first passive house

3293-556: The Passive House Institute. In 2011, PHI cancelled its contract with PHIUS for misconduct. PHIUS disputed the claims by PHI and continued working to launch an independent building performance program. In 2015 PHIUS launched its own PHIUS+ standard, which primarily focuses on reducing negative effects of building operations for any type of building. This standard also uses climate data sets to determine specific building performance criteria for different regions. Such information

3382-560: The Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP), which uses specifically-designed computer simulations . Below are the techniques used to achieve the standard. Passive solar building design and energy-efficient landscaping support passive house energy conservation and can integrate them into a neighborhood and environment. Following passive solar building techniques , where possible buildings are compact in shape to reduce their surface area; principal windows are oriented towards

3471-511: The Wuppertal Institute on 30 April 2020. Since May 1, 2020, Manfred Fischedick has been leading the Institute as Scientific Managing Director. Manfred Fischedick, who studied engineering and is a Professor of Economics at the Schumpeter School of Business and Economics at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal , deals in his work with system analytical questions, aspects of innovation dynamics and

3560-512: The Wuppertal Institute's international recognition. Following the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the implementation of Agenda 21 was high on the (environmental) policy agenda in many countries. The first attempts were very timid and showed a lack of experience in implementing the new leading principle called sustainable development . The 1995 report Zukunftsfähiges Deutschland (published as “Greening

3649-442: The air exchange with exterior is done by controlled ventilation through a heat-exchanger in order to minimize heat loss (or gain, depending on climate), so uncontrolled air leaks are best avoided. Another reason is the passive house standard makes extensive use of insulation which usually requires a careful management of moisture and dew points . This is achieved through air barriers, careful sealing of every construction joint in

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3738-468: The building envelope, and sealing of all service penetrations. Use of passive natural ventilation is an integral component of passive house design where ambient temperature is conducive—either by singular or cross ventilation, by a simple opening or enhanced by the stack effect from smaller ingress with larger egress windows and/or clerestory -operable skylight . When ambient climate is not conducive, mechanical heat recovery ventilation systems with

3827-417: The capital. An International Advisory Board stands for the independence and the Institute's scientific quality and provides advice concerning strategic basic research issues. The institute is financed by third-party funds (Drittmittel) and core funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Wuppertal Institute is a non-profit GmbH whose sole owner is the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The chairman of

3916-491: The climate protection policies of municipalities' strategies towards the long-term goal of a low-carbon society. A study commissioned by Siemens AG for the city of Munich shows what this could look like. Long-term energy scenarios, such as those developed by the Wuppertal Institute together with research partners for the German Federal Ministry of the Environment , contributed to the German government's decision after

4005-616: The concept had been validated at the Institute in Darmstadt, with space heating at 90% less than that required for a standard new building at the time, the economical passive houses working group was created. This group developed the planning package and initiated the production of the innovative components that had been used, notably the windows and the high-efficiency ventilation systems. Meanwhile, further passive houses were built in Stuttgart (1993), Naumburg, Hesse , Wiesbaden , and Cologne (1997). Products that had been developed according to

4094-502: The conditions for sustainable digitalization. Germany and the European Union target a comprehensive transition towards a circular economy , in which waste should be avoided, products and their components should be used as long as possible, and waste is regarded as a potential resource . Related challenges and questions focuses on the design of infrastructures, policy mixes and governance structures. Necessary innovation processes are

4183-478: The council. Qualified research is particularly lacking in the fields of transport and climate development. In August 2005, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Wuppertal Institute jointly founded the Center on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP). As a member of the globally cooperating UNEP Centers, its mission is to develop practically oriented contributions to

4272-443: The division: The Division Energy-, Transport- and Climate-Policy focuses on strategies and instruments for effective and integrated energy, transport and climate policies at the local, regional, national and international level. Central themes are the synergy effects of policy strategies that support the sustainable development of energy and transport systems as well as climate protection generally as well as policy instruments in

4361-478: The equator to maximize passive solar gain . However, the use of solar gain, especially in temperate climate regions, is secondary to minimizing the overall house energy requirements. In climates and regions needing to reduce excessive summer passive solar heat gain, whether from direct or reflected sources, brise soleil , trees , attached pergolas with vines , vertical gardens , green roofs , and other techniques are implemented. Exterior wall color, when

4450-574: The experience of North American builders during the 1970s, who—in response to the OPEC oil embargo —sought to build homes that used little to no energy. These designs often utilised expansive solar-gain windows, which used the sun as a heat source. However, superinsulation became a key feature of such efforts, as seen in the Saskatchewan Conservation House in Regina , Saskatchewan , (1977) and

4539-461: The expertise of scientists and economists as well as geographers and spatial planners, engineers, philosophers, and historians. The Wuppertal Institute conducts research at an international level. The Institute's international research activities follow a transformative approach, where researchers work in transdisciplinary and multicultural teams that address global and context-specific sustainability challenges. The Institute's main research areas at

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4628-432: The federal government's first "Digital Policy Agenda for the Environment" at a federal press conference. It contains 70 concrete measures that combine digitalization and climate protection, such as The Federal Environment Agency, to create a registry for data centers as a data basis for future efficiency targets. Smartphones and tablets are to be given a longer life through new rules at EU level, thereby saving resources. Under

4717-443: The field of energy end-use efficiency. The following Research Units belong to the division: The Division Sustainable Production and Consumption develops instruments, concepts and strategies to promote the transition to more sustainable patterns of production and consumption. The division explores opportunities for creating a sustainable, resource-light society, and a socio-ecological market economy in which products and services offer

4806-552: The filters in the system. Beyond the recovery of heat by the heat recovery ventilation unit, a well-designed passive house in the European climate should not need any supplemental heat source if the heating load is kept under 10 W/m . The passive house standards in Europe set a space heating and cooling energy demand of 15 kWh/m (4,750 BTU/sq ft) per year, and 10 W/m (3.2 Btu/h/sq ft) peak demand. In addition,

4895-569: The first time as member of the Landtag (state parliament) of North Rhine-Westphalia . In 1967, he became chairman of the SPD fraction in the Landtag, and in 1970, he was Minister of Science and Education in the cabinet of Minister President Heinz Kühn . He soon gained a reputation as a reformer. As part of the mass education campaign of the 1970s, he founded five universities, each at different sites, in North Rhine-Westphalia and initiated Germany's first distance learning university at Hagen (modelled on

4984-707: The heat recovery ventilation system. With careful design and increasing competition in the supply of the specifically designed passive house building products, in Germany it is currently possible to construct buildings for the same cost as those built to normal German building standards , as was done with the passive house apartments in Vauban, Freiburg . On average, passive houses are reported to be more expensive upfront than conventional buildings: 5% to 8% in Germany, 8% to 10% in UK and 5% to 10% in USA. Evaluations have indicated that while it

5073-626: The implementation of the United Nations' international Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The following Research Units belong to the division: The Division Circular Economy focuses its research on how to succeed in transforming the resource-intensive, linear economy into a circular economy in which the value and the raw materials contained in products are preserved in the best way possible after their usage phase. The division develops targets and instruments for environmental services and digitalization, which enables closed material cycles and creates

5162-466: The institute intends to take into account the higher management complexity and also to position the research fields more clearly. In its scientific activities, the Institute advises ministries at the federal and state level as well as the European Union and is thus frequently in the public eye. On 2 March 2020, Svenja Schulze (German Federal Minister of the Environment) and Manfred Fischedick presented

5251-461: The international climate debate. In 2002, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia decided to no longer support the institute. The Wuppertal Institute examined the matter on the recommendation of the respected Science Council, which advises the federal and state governments on research policy matters. The institute's environmental policy tasks are still important and worthy of support, but the concrete work suffers from serious conceptual deficiencies, said

5340-616: The international comparisons section below. National partners within the 'consortium for the Promotion of European Passive Houses' are thought to have some flexibility to adapt these limits locally. In the US there are two versions of passive house being promoted by two separate entities: the Passive House Institute (PHI) and the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). PHIUS was originally an affiliate and approved trainer and certifier for

5429-400: The international level include the energy and industry system transitions, global climate governance, the low-carbon urban transformation (incl. mobility), sustainable production and consumption, and the circular economy. In 2019, structural changes were implemented as the institute grew in size. 13 new Research Units organized within the four divisions began their work. With the new structure,

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5518-449: The market introduction of new technologies. Conceiving strategies for sustainable development requires an integrated approach both to policy and to scientific research. The quest to live and work in a way that conserves resources often raises questions that cannot be answered by one area of policy alone or by a single scientific discipline. This is the Wuppertal Institute's starting point. Its interdisciplinary research teams bring together

5607-510: The material flows to conserve the finite material, energy, and natural resources . With his concept of the “Ecological rucksack” he introduced his ideas into scientific and political debates. In 2001, the Tokyo-based Takeda Foundation awarded Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker and Friedrich Schmidt-Bleek a price worth one hundred million Japanese yen for their concepts "Factor Four", "MIPS" and "ecological rucksack", an expression of

5696-466: The number of passive house buildings around the world ranged from 15,000 to 20,000 structures. In 2016, there were approximately 60,000 such certified structures of all types worldwide. The vast majority of passive house structures have been built in German-speaking countries and Scandinavia . The term passive house has had at least two meanings in the literature. Its earlier meaning, used since

5785-625: The pacifist Rau and his political mentor, Gustav Heinemann , joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), where he was active in the Wuppertal chapter. He served as deputy chairman of the SPD party of Wuppertal and was elected later on to the City Council (1964–1978), where he served as chairman of the SPD Group (1964–1967) and later as Mayor (1969–1970). In 1958, Rau was elected for

5874-408: The passive house standard are required to be extremely airtight compared to conventional construction. They are required to meet 0.60 ACH50 (air changes per hour at 50 pascals) based on the building's volume. In order to achieve these metrics, best practice is to test the building air barrier enclosure with a blower door at mid-construction if possible. A passive house is designed so that most of

5963-621: The passive house standard were further commercialized during and following the European Union sponsored CEPHEUS project, which proved the concept in five European countries in the winter of 2000–2001. The first certified house was built in 2006 near Bemidji, Minnesota , in Camp Waldsee of the German Concordia Language Villages . The first US passive retrofit project, the remodeled craftsman O'Neill house in Sonoma, California ,

6052-423: The people and other animals inside the building. This is due to the fact that people, on average, emit heat equivalent to 100 watts each of radiated thermal energy . Together with the comprehensive energy conservation measures taken, this means that a conventional central heating system is not necessary, although they are sometimes installed due to client's skepticism. Instead, passive houses sometimes have

6141-713: The required high R-values (low U-values , typically in the 0.10 to 0.15 W/(m ·K) range). Special attention is given to eliminating thermal bridges . To meet the requirements of the passive house standard, windows are manufactured with exceptionally high R-values (low U-values, typically 0.85 to 0.45 W/(m ·K) for the entire window including the frame). The windows normally combine triple or quadruple -pane insulated glazing (with an appropriate solar heat-gain coefficient, low-emissivity coatings, sealed argon or krypton gas filled inter-pane voids, and 'warm edge' insulating glass spacers) with air-seals and specially developed thermal break window frames. Building envelopes under

6230-399: The social discussion on globally sustainable development. Agreed in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol took the global nature of the climate change into account, even if it was ratified only many years later. The Kyoto Protocol was the first international agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions . The Wuppertal Institute's Climate Policy Division was closely involved in setting this milestone in

6319-482: The standard in 2018. The $ 14.5 million, 171-unit development (including a nine-story companion to the high-rise) consists entirely of social housing. Gaobeidian , China, hosted the 23rd International Passive House Conference in 2019, and later built the Gaobeidian Railway City apartment complex which is reported to be "the world's largest passive house project". China have taken a leadership role in passive house construction, with 73 different companies "making windows to

6408-593: The starting point for the institute's research. The following Research Units belong to the division: Berlin Office As a branch of the Wuppertal Institute, the Berlin office promotes cooperation between the Wuppertal Institute and other academic and research institutions in Berlin. 51°15′19″N 7°09′09″E  /  51.25528°N 7.15250°E  / 51.25528; 7.15250 Johannes Rau Johannes Rau ( German: [joˈhanəs ˈʁaʊ] ; 16 January 1931 – 27 January 2006)

6497-400: The supervisory board is a state secretary of the respective government. The Wuppertal Institute started its research work in 1991, headed by Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker . The later Federal President Johannes Rau (SPD) gave significant support to the founding when he was still Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia. He ensured that the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy

6586-511: The surface allows a choice for reflection or absorption insolation qualities, depends on the predominant year-round ambient outdoor temperature. The use of deciduous trees and wall trellised or self attaching vines can assist in climates not at the temperature extremes. Passive house buildings employ superinsulation to significantly reduce the heat transfer through the walls, roof and floor compared to conventional buildings. A wide range of thermal insulation materials can be used to provide

6675-553: The ten-year Sustainable Consumption and Production program that was agreed upon at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. In September 2004, the Wuppertal Institute's Berlin office was established under the direction of Hermann E. Ott. Wolfgang Sachs took over the management in 2009, Maja Göpel in 2013, and Daniel Vallentin and Timon Wehnert in 2017. Since 2019 Timon Wehnert and Stefan Werland are heading

6764-545: The transdisciplinary understanding of science within the conceptual framework of transition research. In 2011 the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) published its main report "World in Transition – A Social Contract for Sustainability", which calls for a fundamental change: a shift from a fossil to a post-fossil society. The task of research, it states, is to examine these transition processes and to support

6853-474: The transformation through specific innovations in the relevant sectors. This approach characterizes the scientific work at the institute. It also includes the question of securing prosperity, the "good life", beyond unrestrained economic growth. In the sustainability discourse, it is becoming increasingly clear that more efficient use of resources is eminently important, but it is not enough because rebound effects often reduce efficiency gains. The Wuppertal Institute

6942-803: The use of earth warming tubes . The tubes are typically around 200 millimetres (7.9 in) in diameter, 40 metres (130 ft) long at a depth of about 1.5 metres (4.9 ft). They are buried in the soil to act as earth-to-air heat exchangers and pre-heat (or pre-cool) the intake air for the ventilation system. In cold weather, the warmed air also prevents ice formation in the heat recovery system's heat exchanger . Concerns about this technique have arisen in some climates due to problems with condensation and mold. In addition to using passive solar gain , passive house buildings make extensive use of their intrinsic heat from internal sources—such as waste heat from lighting, major appliances and other electrical devices (but not dedicated heaters)—as well as body heat from

7031-508: The vice-president at that time, found a large audience proposing his MIPS concept for gauging material input per service unit and identifying "ecological rucksacks" that "carry" products and services when they arrive at the consumer. He was aware of the fact that the then prevailing environmental policy was not paying enough attention to the great material flows; he advocated that besides already existing successful legal measures for pollutant emissions limitation, it would be necessary to reduce

7120-415: The way towards new models of prosperity. Efficiency is the cornerstone of the book Factor Four - Doubling Wealth, Halving Resource Use by Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Amory and Hunter Lovins ( Rocky Mountain Institute , US). They assembled fifty examples of successful products using half the usual amount of natural resources, including hypercars, " Passivhaus ", superwindows, long-lasting furniture, and

7209-585: Was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 1999 to 2004. A member of the Social Democratic Party , he previously served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 1998. In the latter role, he also served as President of the Bundesrat in 1982/83 and in 1994/95. Rau was born in the Barmen part of Wuppertal , Rhine Province , as the third of five children. His family

7298-756: Was a member of the Synod of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland , a member church of the Protestant Church in Germany . On 9 August 1982, Rau married the political scientist Christina Delius (born 1956). Christina Rau is a granddaughter of her husband's mentor, Gustav Heinemann , former President of Germany . The couple had three children: Anna Christina, born 1983, Philip Immanuel, born 1985 and Laura Helene, born 1986. On 18 August 2004, Rau had to undergo serious heart surgery, in which an artificial heart valve

7387-627: Was built in 2005 by Tomas O'Leary, a "passive house" designer and teacher. The house was called 'Out of the Blue'. Upon completion, Tomas moved into the building. The world's first standardised passive prefabricated house was built in Ireland in 2005 by Scandinavian Homes a Swedish company, that has since built more passive houses in England and Poland . The first certified passive house in Antwerp , Belgium ,

7476-628: Was built in 2010. In 2011, Heidelberg , Germany, initiated the Bahnstadt project, which was seen as the world's largest passive house building area. A company in Qatar planned the country's first Passive House in 2013, the first in the region. The world's tallest passive house was built in the Bolueta neighborhood in Bilbao , Spain . At 289 feet (88 m), it is currently the world's tallest building certified under

7565-641: Was certified in July 2010. In the United States, passive house design was first implemented by Katrin Klingenberg in 2003 when she built a passive home prototype named "The Smith House" in Urbana, Illinois . Later, she and builder Mike Kernagis co-founded the Ecological Construction Laboratory in 2004 to further explore the feasibility of the affordable passive design. It eventually led to the inception of

7654-503: Was established in his hometown. The Institute's mission – formulated in its partnership agreement – was, first of all, to "promote measures and initiatives to secure the climate situation, to improve the environment and to save energy, as an interface between the scientific pursuit of knowledge and its practical application”. Founding President Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker advocated a resource strategy founded on reducing resource use by means of what he called an "efficiency revolution" pointing

7743-519: Was included. During 2000, Rau became the first German head of state to address the Knesset , the Israeli parliament, in German. The controversial step prompted some Israeli delegates to walk out. However, Israeli President Moshe Katsav supported and praised him for bridging the gap between the two states. Rau had a deep and lifelong commitment to bringing reconciliation between Germany and its past. Rau had

7832-594: Was inserted. Only two months later (19 October 2004), a hematoma in the abdominal cavity was surgically removed. After leaving office, Rau lived with his family in the federal capital, Berlin . However, they also kept a house in Wuppertal . Passive house Passive house ( German : Passivhaus ) is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building that reduces the building's carbon footprint . Conforming to these standards results in ultra-low energy buildings that require less energy for space heating or cooling. A similar standard, MINERGIE-P ,

7921-563: Was strongly Protestant . As a schoolboy, Rau was active in the Confessing Church , which resisted Nazism . Rau left school in 1949 and worked as a publisher, especially with the Protestant Youth Publishing House. Rau was a member of the All-German People's Party (GVP), which was founded by Gustav Heinemann . The party was known for proposing German reunification from 1952 until it was disbanded in 1957. In 1958,

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