As an avid reader of Passivhaus books (actually any books on a variety of subjects); below are two I would heartily recommend to get you started on Passivhaus theory and onto more advance topics.

1. The Passivhaus Handbook by Janet Cotterell and Adam Dadeby

A great primer in everything Passivhaus. Chapters include:

Part One: The how and why of Passivhaus
• What is Passivhaus
• The economics of Passivhaus
• Passivhaus Certification
• Challenges of meeting the Passivhaus standard
• Natural materials,zero carbon and resilience
• Setting up a Passivhaus project

Part Two: Passivhaus projects: a practical guide
• Using PHPP
• Thermal bridges
• Airtightness and sequencing
• Moisture
• Windows
• Ventilation
• Living in a Passivhaus
• Policy change in the UK

The book is extensively Appendixed with a great glossary of terms/units plus notes and resources.

I used this book as part of my revision before passing my Certified European Passivhaus Designer / Consultant examination.

The book has great illustrations and photographs throughout and covers everything Passivhaus from beginning to end.

You can obtain the Passivhaus handbook from Green Books HERE

2. PHPP Illustrated by Sarah Lewis

This book is specifically on using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) and as such is obviously designed for those designing with PHPP. As a certified Passivhaus designer I found it excellent and filled in a lot of gaps that the PHPP manual misses.

Again well illustrated with key screen grabs from PHPP.

Ideal for any qualified or budding Passive House Consultants or Designers or those using PHPP on a day to day basis.

You can obtain the Passivhaus handbook from The RIBA Bookshop HERE

My only criticism of both the books is that they’re heavily biased towards UK users and more of Ireland could have been mentioned; especially when the first European Passivhaus was completed by Tomás O’Leary of The Passive House Academy in 2004