NRG positive — Passive house construction & energy retrofit in Geneva

Approach

Achim Siegele, Architect Dipl. Ing. (FH), founder of NRG positive

Architekt Dipl. Ing. (FH)

Passive house trainer since 2008

Passivhaus Designer training, Dornbirn 2011 *

Minergie® member

Geneva since 1999 · NRG positive since 2015

* Passivhaus Designer (CEPH) training and exam
completed at the Energieinstitut Vorarlberg, Dornbirn (Austria).

LinkedIn profile

"Energy performance is won at the design stage, not in the boiler room."

Whether you build or renovate, energy performance is decided early — in design choices, envelope details and materials. At that stage, fixing something costs almost nothing: it is a stroke of the pen. The same mistake found on site costs a hundred times more, and once the building is handed over, the only way left to correct it is to turn up the heating.

NRG positive is the partner that helps you get these decisions right from the start. For buildings — new or renovated — that consume little, last long and need no compensating.

2006 1^st passive house in France — and the first Minergie®-certified building in France

2016 Representative at the international symposium "Architecture and Climate Change" · COP22, Marrakech

2019 Revision and redesign of the CEPH courses^* — Propassif, La Maison Passive (France)

2023 IDC coordinator for the Ecological Transition Programme — State of Geneva, OCBA

^* CEPH — Certified European PassivHouse Designer.

Owners & property managers · Geneva

Is your IDC above 125 kWh/m²·yr?

In Geneva, the heat consumption index (IDC) is no longer just an indicator: above certain thresholds, the law requires an energy audit, then renovation work. Anticipating this deadline means choosing your renovation strategy, your schedule and your subsidies — rather than having them imposed.

Drawing on two years of IDC coordination for the State of Geneva (OCBA), NRG positive helps you read your situation and turn it into a coherent project.

Assess your situation Understand the IDC and its thresholds →

> 125 kWh/m²·yr — mandatory energy audit

> 180 kWh/m²·yr — mandatory renovation work (from 2027)

36 months to start the work once the threshold is established

Services

How can we help?

Depending on your project and where you stand, here is what NRG positive can bring.

Consulting · Owner's engineer

Project support

Building or renovating? Tailored support from design to site — comprehensive or focused on a specific phase. Passive construction and energy retrofit.

In Geneva, targeting HPE/THPE opens concrete rights — buildable surface bonus (LCI art. 59), external insulation excluded from envelope limits (art. 114A)

Training

Professional training

Does your team work on high-performance projects? Modules adapted to your context, inter- or in-company, on Passivhaus standards and the building envelope — relevant to any passive construction or high-performance retrofit.

Passivhaus training · independent of any label

Online

Passive construction e-learning

Short modules to go deeper at your own pace — principles, retrofit, envelope, labels. First module in beta late 2026.

Your e-mail is used only to notify you of the launch.

Events

Talks & awareness

Organising a symposium or professional event? Technical talks on passive construction and envelope performance, adapted to your audience.

Holistic approach

CO₂ balance, embodied energy & reuse

New regulatory requirements (LCI art. 117 & 118) demand a holistic view of a building's carbon impact — materials, execution, life cycle. We help you integrate these issues from the design stage: material choices, embodied energy, reuse and recovery. An ecological approach that goes beyond the energy label.

A project, a question? Tell us about your situation →

References

Projects & commitments

Hands-on expertise, project after project.

First passive house in France, 2006 — terrace and large glazing

2006 · Minzier (74) · France

1^st passive house in France

Design and construction — and the first Minergie®-certified house in France (certificate F-74-001, 2006). Designed to the Passivhaus standard and calculated with PHPP. Lived in by its designer for twenty years: today it is the reference building for our training courses.

Covers of the revised CEPH course modules: insulation, airtightness, thermal bridges, windows, ventilation, PHPP, economics

2019 · France

Revision of the Passivhaus Designer courses

Complete revision and redesign of the CEPH training materials for Propassif — La Maison Passive, France: the courses that prepare French-speaking designers for certification. Trainer for La Maison Passive / Propassif since 2008, in Paris and Luxembourg.

Carouge 87 — oil tank converted to rainwater harvesting

2021–2023 · Geneva · Carouge

Zero-waste site & reuse — Carouge 87

The canton's first "zero waste" construction site: 26 apartments renovated with occupants in place, THQMAT charter and the first Low-COV certificate issued in Geneva. An oil tank converted to rainwater harvesting, feeding the building's toilets.

Your project could be next — let's talk →

Contact

Tell us about your project.

Describe it in a few words — we reply within 48 hours, with no obligation.

NRG positive — Achim Siegele

contact@nrg-positive.ch

+41 78 696 84 85

Geneva · western Switzerland & neighbouring France

CHE-250.171.544

Heating is the compensation
for the errors of construction.

Is your IDC above 125 kWh/m²·yr?