JUN 08

Leave it to Germany to create Passivhaus, an extremely rigorous standard for home energy efficiency that makes houses so efficient that they can take on a German winter with nothing more than the heat from a hair dryer.

The Passivhaus system uses technologies that are available today, and there are over 20,000 Passivhaus homes in the world (though, only about 7 in the U.S.) The standards require a good mix of high-tech (heat-exchange ventilators and fancy triple-pained windows) and low-tech (big thick, well-insulated walls.)

Of course, all of this makes the homes difficult (and expensive) to build. The hardest part is making the homes nearly airtight. The foundation walls and ceiling all have to seal together perfectly. In effect, a Passivhaus home could almost exist on the surface of Mars. Making them air-tight also means they need special ventilators that pump in fresh air without pumping out the home's heat. These heat-exchange ventilators are becoming fairly common, I've even got one in my house, though it's not nearly as air-tight as a Passivhaus home.

All of this adds up to a home that can be as much as double the cost per square foot of your average American home. Of course, we're talking about current average American homes, which, we all must admit, haven't been the most well-built buildings in the world.

In the end, Passivhaus blows even LEED Platinum out of the water, requiring 70% less energy for heating than a LEED certified home. Most days of the year, you can literally heat your home with body heat...if you play enough DDR.

Comments (12)

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Wow!
written by Jon, June 09, 2009

I would love to buy one of these! If they are truly twice as expensive as the average American home, well, why not build them half size? People generally have too much space as it is and I for one would sacrifice space for the immense energy savings.

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Double the cost?
written by Ben, June 09, 2009

Here in Belgium a passive house only costs about 15% more than a regular house. The problem in America is that you build wood and cardboard houses that cost nothing but don't hold the heat to well :)

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We live in one
written by Simon Kellett, June 09, 2009

We (family of 4) have lived in a flat in a Passive House standard block of 39 flats for the last 5 years in Darmstadt, Germany and I can confirm that they are plenty warm enough in the winter.
Also no cold draughts or cold walls, clothes dry indoors very fast, very good sound insulation and no thinking about when to turn the heating on off etc.
It would be hard now to return now to a 'normal' house !!

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...
written by MD, June 09, 2009

Look up Larson Truss house, same thing, easier to make, designed by a fellow Canadian...!

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...
written by David White, June 11, 2009

I've seen many Passive Houses, but never heard of one costing anywhere near twice as much as a typical house. In fact, the very basis of Passive House was to reduce energy consumption as economically as possible, specifically by insulating just enough to replace a standard heating system with a tiny heating system that piggy backs onto the fresh air ventilation system.

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Shift Home
written by Tyler, June 11, 2009

There is a superinsulated house being built in Saskatchewan that utilizes the principals of a passive house. Its currently at the permit stage with the city of Saskatoon but will be started this summer.

It utilizes a super insulated envelope, double wall (larsen truss) style with passive solar heating.

There is actually over a hundred of these types of homes built in saskatchewan, where insulation is a very important part of building a home due to the extreme winter temperatures.

Its ironically dubbed The Shift Home.
http://www.theshifthome.com

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On the issue of Passive House costs
written by Peter Troast, June 15, 2009

The primary driver of costs is the infancy of the US market for passive house materials and mechanicals. In Germany, where this approach to construction is mature, the market has responded (in classically well engineered German fashion) with products that are very economical. A key component of the Passive House concept is so substantial a reduction in the amount input heat required that mechanical costs plummet precipitously over standard construction.

In the US, progressive new companies like Serious Materials are addressing the need. Obviously, this can't happen fast enough, but progress is underway.

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Double the Cost??????
written by Ken L, June 16, 2009

The added cost should run only 5% to 10% above traditional building. If it is more, the team is not optimizing the process.
This means often a 5 to 8 year payback.
The economics convincing.

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I should add.....
written by Ken L, June 16, 2009

Check out what we're doing with Passive House here in Brooklyn:

http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/park-slope-gets-passive-housing-brooklyn-cohousing-levenson-mcdavid-architects-leed-green-buildings-council

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Hair dryer heater
written by Fred, June 24, 2009

So what's the cost on that?

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Try Harder!
written by john campbell, September 10, 2009

The insulation contained in refrigerators is r45 per inch(now sold for buildings),6 inches is r290,using plastic walls,floors,ceiling etc. you have an airtight home which can survive flood,earthquake and force 5 hurricanes.The home can be built in 3-4 weeks (or less) at a much LOWER cost per square foot...if the stupid building codes were changed.Disney built a plastic house in the 50's,when they decided to destroy it they hit it with wrecking balls...they bounced off.They went to the largest size wrecking balls (used to destroy commercial buildings);they still bounced off.This was without sonic welding or the far better plastics we have today!

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Controlling air flow
written by Rachel, October 03, 2010

Though it's not without its own set of issues (cost being one), the Passivhaus, when sealed and fitted properly, does a great job of conserving energy by using a heat-exchange ventilator and capitalizing on whatever heat is generated in the home.

Well done - at this point all green building is a work in progress.

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