The Passive House

After reading the title of the blog today, you might be wondering, "What the hell is a passive house?"  Well, while we in the United States are mostly oblivious to what a passive house is, people in Europe will know exactly what I am talking about as the concept originated across the pond.  A passive house is essentially a house that has net zero energy consumption.  The interior temperature is maintained through an innovative heat exchange system that removes any ambient heat from the interior air as it is cycled out of the house and heats incoming air with the heat that was absorbed.  This type of system would not be possible in 99.99 percent of the houses in the United States as they are too drafty and under insulated.  A typical passive house has walls that are at least 14 inches thick and super insulated.   The other important feature of a passive house that makes this possible is that it is essentially air tight.  Almost no air can enter or leave a house when all the windows and doors are closed.  By creating a super air tight house and increasing the insulation, it eliminates the need for a furnace or air conditioner.  In addition, it creates a cleaner living environment because very little unfiltered outside air can get in.  So where does the heat come from inside that allows this system to work.  It could come from a stove, dryer, toaster, etc.  Any little amount of heat is utilized in the winter to maintain a comfortable temperature and the reverse is true for the summer.  To read more about the passive house in detail, click here.

There is a whole lot more that goes into a passive house than I just describe, but I think it is a phenomenal concept that could revolutionize home building and help in reducing the cost of heating or cooling a home.  Currently in the United States there are only a handful of homes that are built to the standards of a passive house.  These homes can be found from the deep south to the far north and are proof that this system works if designed and built properly.   This is not just for new homes however, but also for older homes that can be retrofitted to meet the exacting standards.  There is one example of a house in Westport CT that was recently built to the standards of a passive house and the results are amazing.  The homeowner says that their house remains between 73 and 75 degrees F year round with a humidity of 40-50 percent.  Their total cost of heating the home?  Zero.  I don't know about anyone else, but I would love not having to pay for heating oil, furnace maintenance or anything else along those lines.  The one downside from the outset is that it adds about 10-15 percent to the building cost of the home.  That may seem like a lot to begin with, but in the long run, it pays off when you don't have to heat or cool the home.  These rigorous standards far surpass any that we in the United States have.  For instance an Energy Star home could save 15-20% on heating and cooling and an LEED home could save as much as 30% on energy costs.  A passive house regularly saves the homeowner 90% of heating and cooling costs. 

The passive house is still relatively new to the United States and is still rather costly when compared to building a conventional home, but if this really took off and was reduced in price (as most things do over time) it could revolutionize energy consumption and home building.  We in the United States like to complain about our energy costs, the rising cost of oil, blah, blah, blah.  What we don't realize is that we are still relatively lucky in that many of these costs are subsidized by our government to keep them cheaper.  In almost any other country, the cost of heating or cooling a home is much higher.  The price of oil and electricity keeps on going up and it probably will continue to do so.  What our government should do is offer subsidies to builders who engage in building these passive houses.  It will make them more attractive and affordable and in addition to keeping the cost down for the home owner, it will gradually reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.  If we make oil more expensive, people will look for ways to save money and the passive house is one sure fire way of doing so.  The other thing we need is for more of the technology that goes into the passive house to be made in the United States.  This is currently an untapped market as most of the systems for the passive house currently come from Europe.  By adopting this passive house more tenaciously in the United States, we could lower energy costs, create jobs, and help the environment all in one fell swoop.  I know this all takes time, but the sooner we can ride this wave, the sooner we can all start saving more money.