Passivhaus
How do you see yourself living in your dream home? Imagine being comfortable all year long, regardless of your attire, the hour of the day, or the weather outside. In the winter, imagine walking around barefoot, sipping coffee right next to your picture windows without feeling the cold seep through the windows. Imagine sleeping through the night without the furnace cycling on and off or having to get up and feed the fire box. In the summer, would it be nice not to have to move the stagnant summer heat out of the house to sleep? Imagine enjoying every room of your house from the basement to the top floor without significant and uncomfortable temperature differences.
Now imagine living in such comfort without worrying about the cost to heat and cool your home.
These are only a few of the benefits that are the daily experience for those who live in passive house buildings. (See the full list of Passivhaus benefits). Passivhaus designers and builders recognize many of the comfort and efficiency dreams we have can be a reality. If you are seeking a lifestyle that allows you to truly thrive and enjoy your home, a passivhaus may very well be your dream home.
Now imagine living in such comfort without worrying about the cost to heat and cool your home.
These are only a few of the benefits that are the daily experience for those who live in passive house buildings. (See the full list of Passivhaus benefits). Passivhaus designers and builders recognize many of the comfort and efficiency dreams we have can be a reality. If you are seeking a lifestyle that allows you to truly thrive and enjoy your home, a passivhaus may very well be your dream home.
Passivhaus or Passive House?
Passive House, or "Passivhaus" (German spelling), are both used by the industry interchangeably and refer to the same performance based building standard. Ezra Builders has chosen to use the German spelling to differentiate Passive House from Passive Solar.
The Passivhaus Standard
Key features of a Passivhaus:
While there are many “green” certifications in the industry, The PHIUS+ Passive House is one of a few that specify exactly how a building must perform. Specifically, and simply, the two following measurements are the criteria a passive house is held to:
- A home built to the most stringent international energy standard
- Outperforms every other building code and standard
- Unparalleled comfort with the lowest energy bills
- Unmatched levels of safety, durability and sustainability
While there are many “green” certifications in the industry, The PHIUS+ Passive House is one of a few that specify exactly how a building must perform. Specifically, and simply, the two following measurements are the criteria a passive house is held to:
- Amount of energy used for annual heating and cooling ≤ 4.75 kBTU / ft2 or 1.4 kWh / ft2
- Primary energy usage (total energy used) annually ≤ 38 kBTU / ft2 or 11.2 kWh / ft2
How Passivhaus delivers
- Collaboratively designed by a Certified Passive House Consultant and other trade professionals
- Finished product is rigorously tested and verified by independent third party
- Site specific design and optimization strategy
- Super insulation with no thermal bridges
- Air tight building enclosure
- High performance windows and doors
- Continuous fresh air supply and efficient ventilation
- Highly efficient appliances, lighting and plumbing fixtures
- Traditional energy intensive heating sources are unnecessary
Achieving the PHIUS+ passive house certification captures both the Energy Star and US Department of Energy Challenge Home/Zero Energy Ready certifications. In addition, it does not take much to achieve other certifications such as Earth Advantage and LEED for homes. Passivhaus is an amazing achievement by itself, and a great platform for those looking for aggressive changes in how buildings are constructed and lived in.
Passivhaus vs. Passive Solar
Passive house is not passive solar. Passive solar gained widespread popularity at about the same time passivhaus started (1970s). The difference between the two is that passive solar practices place large emphasis on capturing as much of the sun's energy as possible and then storing it in thermal mass. Passivhaus utilizes passive solar design, but does not rely solely upon the sun for heating energy. In fact, we want to limit the solar gain because a passivhaus is optimized to retain occupant generated heat. Retention of heat versus acceptance of heat is the focus. This is one reason why Passive houses don’t need the furnaces and wood stoves commonly found in passive solar homes.
Ezra Builders & Passive House
Ezra Builders is setting a new standard in Northern Arizona for green building practices through Passivhaus design. Ezra Builders is the only Certified Passive House Builder in Arizona. As a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC), Tom has been trained by the certifying and training authority of the United States, the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). He has had a direct involvement in two of the completed passive house projects in the Portland, OR area. At the Karuna Passive House, he acted as one of the Quality Control personnel during the insulation phase. Spending more time in the field at the Pumpkin Ridge Passive House, he worked on the structural framing, air barrier install, door and window install. Through his exposure and experience he believes the passivhaus (passive house) standard is one of the few ways to truly build sustainably and is setting out to do just that.
For more information about PassivHaus, including cost difference, click here.
For more information about PassivHaus, including cost difference, click here.
