Welcome to Our Passive House

Key Features of Our Passive House

Double-Wall Construction

The house features double-wall construction that reduces thermal bridging and creates space for additional insulation, enhancing the thermal envelope of the building. Exterior walls are built using 2x8 timber, followed by an air and moisture barrier, followed by a 10" cavity built from I-joists. Finally, the outer cladding is a durable, very low maintenance metal siding.

Extra Thick Insulation

Our walls are 18 inches thick and have dense-pack cellulose insulation blown into them, giving an insulation value of approximately R-60. This is significantly more insulation than conventional homes, which typically have R-17. This extra insulation dramatically reduces heat transfer and maintains comfortable temperatures year-round with minimal energy input.

While there is no attic, we do have room for 20 inches of dense-packed cellulose insulation below the roof, giving us roughly R-70 of insulation at the top. Similarly, the foundation walls are made using 6 inch insulated concrete forms (ICF) with an additional 6 inches of foam wrapping that. Our concrete slab has more than 10 inches of foam beneath it, too.

Air Tightness

The house has been meticulously sealed and tested to prevent air leakage, eliminating drafts and ensuring the ventilation system works efficiently to maintain excellent indoor air quality. Modern code-built homes are required to have an ACH50 (air changes per hour at 50 pascals) of less than 3.0. Our home was tested to 0.6 ACH50.

Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV)

A very airtight home still needs to get fresh air from outside. To do this, our home uses an ERV to continuously exchange indoor and outdoor air while recovering heat (or cold) from the exhaust air. A ground-coupled coolant loop in the side yard pre-conditions incoming air, further reducing heating and cooling demands. This system also acts as our shower exhaust fan, automatically boosting to remove the extra moisture when we take a shower or cook a meal.

High-Performance Windows

Our large, south-facing triple-glazed windows are designed to maximize solar heat gain in winter while external shades prevent overheating in summer, providing natural light and passive solar heating. The windows are built using special components that reduce thermal bridging between the inside conditioned space and outside. Our high performance windows have triple gaskets that seal on all four sides but can still open using a tilt and turn mechanism, allowing us to get a great breeze when its nice outside.

Automated Exterior Shades

Our home features exterior shades that work with the Loxone smart home system to automatically regulate indoor temperature. When room temperature reaches 72°F, the system closes the shades to prevent overheating. Throughout the day, the shades automatically adjust to block direct sunlight while still allowing natural light to enter, maintaining comfort without sacrificing daylight.