What is a Passive House and why should I consider building one?
Passivhaus (Passive House in English) is a low-energy building standard that was developed in Germany in the 1990s. Passive homes are designed to use minimal energy. They do this by installing generous amounts of quality insulation, triple-glazed windows (three panes), very tight construction to seal out air currents that bring in moisture, heat/cold and pollution, and advanced ventilation systems. These high-performance elements cut heating bills by up to 79% compared to a home built to Scotland’s national building regulations. (Are Passivhaus Homes More Expensive to Build?) According to the Passive House Institute, Passive House is a building standard that is truly energy efficient, comfortable and affordable at the same time. Passive House is not a brand name, but a tried and true construction concept that can be applied by anyone, anywhere. (About Passive House - What is a Passive House?)
That brings us to the next common question, “Aren’t “Passive Houses” more expensive?” Yes, in some cases they can be about 10% more than a traditional build, but in recent years, that gap has narrowed so that in some cases, it’s actually cheaper to build a Passive House. It seems that there are two things that enable clients to have a Passive House on a similar budget to a traditional build:
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Working with a design firm and builders that are familiar with specifying and installing these energy-saving materials
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Deciding to go with a Passive House design from the start. Converting plans that do not have these details takes much more time and money.
As Coldwells Build in Scotland state, costing more is not the same as “costing too much” when you consider that Passive Houses are high-performance and save money over the lifetime of the house, in addition to being more comfortable and easy to maintain.
Since Passive House standards have been used in the EU for more years than in the US, there is a level of communication between the designer and builder that actually saves money over traditional builds. The Passive House design spends more money (about one-third of the total cost) in design and less in construction (about two-thirds of the total cost). Because of improvements made in the design phase, this design saves money and makes things go smoother in the actual building phase. (Passivehaus cheaper than conventional) This linked video gives details of a Passive House in Scranton, PA, that came out below the local average price per square foot, as well as a home in Ireland that cost 20,000 Euros less than a standard house. The third example was a straw-bale house in Nepal that was 50% cheaper than conventional builds. According to the speaker Daniel Kress, Passive House additionally helps people in third world countries to survive in extreme weather events.
Although projects which want the “title” of being a Passive House need to be “certified”, certification is not necessary for those who are not interested in the title. A homeowner can ask the designer to build to the same standards as Passive House and enjoy the backend savings and comfort of a Passive House, but not go through the certification process, thereby saving money.
Air sealing with the correct insulation and ventilation will not only make you physically more comfortable, but also more peaceful because these details deaden outside sound. It actually makes your home more quiet! This is super-important for those who are building in urban areas.
An architect firm in New York City, Ingui Architecture, is pushing Passive Houses to the forefront in a unique way. When contractors are invited to bid on Passive House builds, they are in turn required to agree to open the construction site to competitors just before closing the walls. The Collective gives contractors a chance to learn from each other and compare methods, details, and products. For architects, engineers, and others who attend, the Collective provides the information they need to design more effectively. This type of communication, in essence, “accelerates” the what’s and how’s of Passive House design and construction within the local building community. This was a very new concept, but Michael Ingui stressed that the ultimate goal of the Contractor Collective is to scale better building, vet details, and reinforce that “competition” is building details better, faster, and cheaper, not trying to outcompete each other. (Passive House Accelerator—The What and Why of Passive House)
Regarding homeowners who are wanting to build but unsure of whether to go the Passive House route, Ingui says that they can “feel” the difference when walking into a Passive House, which is “filtered fresh air 24/7, quiet interiors, and a resilient and serene indoor environment.” This becomes increasingly apparent when outdoor air and conditions become unpredictable. When wildfire smoke from the Canada fires caused the air quality in New York City to drop to levels not seen since the 1960s, one of their clients had recently moved into his Passive House and was monitoring both energy usage and air quality in his new home. He found that “in the house, the air quality meters I had just gotten showed that during the fires, the air quality was exponentially better inside than outside.”
If you are considering building a new home, you might consider Passive House design also, and really do your homework on who can lead the charge for you. It’s imperative to have both an experienced designer and builder, who are used to working together on Passive House projects, to achieve the goals on-budget. As anyone who’s renovated or built a home knows, it’s a very stressful undertaking, and the improved communication inherent in Passive House building might just be the ticket to getting a quality, comfortable home with less headaches and regrets!
Photo by Marissa Lewis on Unsplash
