Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

designPH is an extension (plugin) for SketchUp, which provides a 3D interface for the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP). It can help save a lot of manual data entry in the PHPP and can perform a highly accurate shading analysis in your 3D model.

No, designPH is a separate optional piece of software that can help to speed-up your PHPP workflow. You can purchase a bundle of designPH & PHPP, but designPH is also available at an upgrade price if you are already a PHPP customer.

No. designPH alone does not verify that your design meets the Passivhaus Standard. It performs a simplified energy balance calculation to help optimise the form.  The project can then be transferred to PHPP to add further detail (such as ventilation and heating systems), check for overheating risk and perform the full verification.

Look here for details on the best procedure taking into account your current designPH relationship.

That really de­pends on what Sketch­Up ver­sion you are us­ing. Look here.

designPH requires PHPP 8.5 upwards.

To use PHPP8 only, you need designPH 1.0.x (upgrade to 1.0.30 is recommended).

To use PHPP9, you need designPH 1.1.

To use PHPP10, you need designPH 2.1.10.

Currently designPH is available in English, German, Spanish and Dutch (Spanish is available from v1.1.40 and Dutch from v1.1.55).

• Selection of language in designPH - Since v1.1.55 the language can be manually selected using the drop-down language switcher at the top of the main dialog. In older designPH versions, the language selected depends on the language of SketchUp, so if you use German SketchUp then you will automatically get designPH in German. If you use SketchUp in a language not yet supported by designPH then you will get English as the default language.

• Other language translations of designPH - In future we plan to provide translations of designPH in other languages through our resellers. 

• PHPP language compatibility - PHPP is available is many more languages.  designPH in English or German can be used in combination with other translations of PHPP, although with some limitations. In PHPP8 in was sometimes necessary to re-assign the selected climate and components after export, where the names were translated. In PHPP9 most of these issues have been removed since the climates and components use language independent ID codes.

designPH v2.2 introduced the live units switcher, so the calculation results and inputs of properties can be seamlessly switched between metric (SI) and US Imperial (IP) systems. Both SI and IP export modes are always available, regardless of the chosen display units.

In earlier designPH versions, users of the PHPP-IP version can enable the designPH-IP export modes by activating designPH using their PHPP-IP registration code received from the reseller.

Yes, the demo can be found here.

It is planned to deliver some video-tutorials and SketchUp-tutorials in the download-section of designph.org.  You can also find training courses running in your area from the Events section of the iPHA website http://www.passivehouse-international.org

No, you do not need to be an expert in SketchUp as the level of modelling required to make a designPH analysis is relatively simple.

You should have familiarity with at least the following basic drawing tools:

• Rect­angle, Line, Push/Pull, Off­set, Move, Ro­tate, Tape meas­ure, Eraser

Useful commands / techniques:

• Make Group / Edit Group / Ex­plode, Du­plic­ate and Du­plic­ate ar­ray (us­ing the Move tool with mod­i­fi­er keys)

The following palettes / panels are very useful:

• En­tity Info (for read­ing ele­ment info, nam­ing ele­ments)

• Lay­ers (as­sign­ing ele­ments to them and con­trolling vis­ib­il­ity)

• Dy­nam­ic Com­pon­ent Op­tions (for edit­ing win­dow prop­er­ties)

Familiarity with the following is also useful but not essential:

• Edit: Paste in Place, Edit: De­lete Guides, View: Hide rest of mod­el, View: Hid­den geo­metry, View: X-ray mode, Out­liner palette, Sec­tion cuts, Show / Hide in­di­vidu­al ele­ments and groups

If you plan to buy PHPP anyway, designPH is not a large extra expense. If you are working on a more complex building it will simplify the process of entering building geometry into PHPP. It should be especially easy for those of you already familiar with  SketchUp and trust us, it makes working with PHPP much more fun. There is so much more planned and with your ownership of designPH you support the ongoing further development of the tool.

There is no possibility to import CAD files in the Free version of SketchUp, this is saved for the Full Version. Should however another CAD or BIM based programme be able to save or export SketchUp files (.skp) you can open these in SketchUp Free. Usually these models need some adjustments to get a clean analysis of the thermal building envelope (e.g. decorative elements should be removed).

In the Free version of SketchUp there is no possibility to export CAD files. This is a Pro only feature. But there are a few other CAD and BIM programmes in which you can open and edit SketchUp files (.skp).

In designPH you will find exactly the same database of building components (windows, wall construction, etc.) as in the PHPP. Furthermore you can assign your own building components (eg. there is a U-value calculator same as in PHPP) or you can assign your own window properties. These are also exported to the PHPP. A future feature we are working on, is a so called "user database", so you can use frequently used components along your different projects and don´t have to put them in newly each time.

The implementation of these future features also depends on the urgency by the designPH-users itself. You can vote for these features on designph.org as an designph member (owner) and so you also have influence on what will be developed earlier to better suit the needs of the users.

As with PHPP, there is a range of discounts available for existing customers and iPHA affiliate members. Updates (which provide bugfixes and features improvements) for a given designPH version are free. Upgrades (which provide new features) will generally require an additional purchase. 

* The last update for designPH 1.0.x / PHPP8 is designPH 1.0.30. 

* To use designPH with PHPP9, you need to upgrade to designPH 1.1. There is a small upgrade charge for this, although resellers have some discretion whether or not this is charged.