Performance
What it takes to hit Passive House energy targets — and how Global 80™ on REHAU ARTEVO™ gets there with RAU-FIPRO® and RAU-FLECT™ technology.
Passive House is the most demanding voluntary energy standard in residential construction. The idea is simple to state and hard to achieve: build an envelope so airtight and well-insulated that the home needs almost no active heating or cooling. Windows are the make-or-break component — and they are exactly where a high-performance European system earns its place.
Why windows decide the outcome
A wall can be packed with insulation; a window cannot. It is the thinnest, weakest point in the thermal envelope, so its U-value — the rate at which it loses heat — sets the ceiling on the whole assembly. An economy window sits around U-0.37. A Passive House-grade window needs to be dramatically lower.
How Global 80™ reaches the target
The Global 80™ is built on REHAU’s ARTEVO™ system, and three technologies work together to hit Passive House numbers:
RAU-FIPRO® hybrid frame
Glass-fiber-reinforced PVC delivers structural strength without steel. Removing the metal eliminates a thermal bridge and lets the insulating nature of PVC do its job — while still supporting openings up to 9.2 ft (2.8 m) tall.
RAU-FLECT™ Low-E insert
A V-shaped, weldable PVC component with a highly reflective coating sits inside the profile chambers, cutting convection and reflecting heat radiation back where it belongs. Crucially, it replaces foam insulators, so the whole system stays fully recyclable.
Deep, multi-chamber profile with triple glazing
An 80 mm frame depth with seven chambers and a combined frame-and-sash height of 117 mm accommodates triple — even quad — glazing. Co-extruded compression, convection and center seals lock out heat loss, air infiltration and water.
More than thermal numbers
The same construction that delivers the U-value also brings up to 44 dB of sound reduction, CW-PG100 structural ratings and 10-point security locking. In other words, hitting Passive House efficiency doesn’t cost you comfort, quiet or strength — you get all of it in one system. To see how it compares with our standard series, read Global 70™ vs. Global 80™.
Dig into the engineering on Seemray
Our sister company Seemray maintains the full Global 80™ / ARTEVO™ technical page, plus a real-world off-grid build using European triple-pane windows.