How Daniel Kozinski Is Turning a 1930’s House into a Certified Passivhaus Home

What inspired you to share your project with visitors?

The Passivhaus way of building is collaborative, inspiring and worth sharing. By showing what’s possible along with the challenges and benefits we can inspire others to embrace this high-quality approach to construction and creating Passivhaus homes.

What do you hope people take away from it?

I hope people come away feeling that they can do it too, that they have the resources and the will to make it happen. I’m refurbishing a pretty standard 1930’s semi-detached house in one of the most affordable areas, so if I can do it here, anyone can.

What made you decide to retrofit this particular property to Passivhaus standards?

When I brought the property, I didn’t originally plan for it to become a Passivhaus project. It was only as I started planning the major refurbishment that I realised its simple shape and straightforward construction made it a good candidate. That’s really the main reason it’s a fairly small, simple-form property, which increases the chances of achieving certification.

What has been the biggest challenge?

I’m still only halfway through the project, but the biggest challenge will be getting the house certified. My designer and I didn’t fully realise at first how tight the margins are when working with existing buildings to meet the Passivhaus standard. There are challenges in almost every part of the house the walls, windows, floor, and ventilation making it more complex than a new build or even a typical retrofit. Still, there’s a good chance the final project will meet the certification criteria.

How do the energy bills compare to a conventional house?

We don’t know the exact results yet, as the project isn’t finished. We’ve installed the heat pump and storage system, and we’re currently using the heat pump as much as possible. Based on the plans and modelling, the energy bills could be much lower around 25% of those of a similar-sized house.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone planning a Passivhaus, what would it be?

I’d say, go to Open Days and talk to people who’ve already done it. It can be challenging, but it’s absolutely worth it. You can create a healthy, quiet and warm home that will last for decades and need very little maintenance. So my advice is go for it, do your research and learn from others.

When is the next project?

Once we finish this 1930’s semi hopefully by Christmas 2026. We might start another project in 2027.

What would you say were the biggest successes of the day?

Participants were very eager to share their experiences, which was wonderful to see. We talked about our project and they in turn shared their own journeys with retrofitting and Passivhaus. Their openness and willingness to exchange knowledge was incredibly valuable to us.

How do you feel the Open Day went overall?

Overall, I think the event went really well. It had a very different feel from the one we attended the day before and I really appreciated our relaxed, homely approach to the open day. Having experts like Marianne and Eric on site made a big difference, and the unhurried flow of the day allowed people to ask questions specific to their own needs and projects.

The atmosphere was much more informal than the previous event and attendance was in line with our expectations. In the future, it might be helpful to offer two time slots, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, to give the day a bit more structure.

The space worked well in helping people feel comfortable, encouraging them to ask questions and explore what might be possible for their own homes. Many visitors were looking for inspiration and I hope we were able to provide that. The coffee, tea and cake also added to the friendly, welcoming feel. It felt more like meeting with friends than delivering a dry presentation on retrofitting.

It was also lovely to see some familiar faces from the first open day. I’m already looking forward to hosting another event next summer.

VISITOR COMMENTS

Thanks very much for your hospitality this morning. It was great to see your house and understand your journey.

And thanks very much for the amazing cake!

Thank you for the valuable information provided on Passivhaus retrofitting. Got more knowledge on the Passivhaus, well explained! Thank you.

Steffan – Research Student University of Lancashire

Thank you for the walk and the explanations. It is inspiring to know that more people are going for refurbishments at this level. Keep the Passivhaus work up!

Sago and Giulia