In recent years, the total energy consumption of existing buildings has 36.9% of total U.S. energy consumption By 2023, it will be 19.7% residential and 17.2% commercial. If you’re planning on building a new home, building to the Passive House standard may be your biggest opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint and work toward sustainable, equitable energy use for the planet.
Passive House design is world-class in energy efficiency Building standardsReduce energy use by over 70% and your home’s carbon footprint by over 60%. Just think of the impact we could make if all new homes were built using Passive House design. This is an opportunity to change the way we build while saving energy, money, and the planet.
Passive House Design Principles
The principles of Passive House design are straightforward: Build an ultra-efficient building envelope (home envelope) that requires very little energy to heat and cool. An efficiently designed building envelope reduces the energy needed to heat and cool a home by 80% to 90%.
With heating and cooling energy loads being significantly reduced, new technologies such as heat pumps and mechanical ventilation will be implemented, reducing the energy needed for hot water and improving air quality by providing a constant supply of fresh air.
Passive House principles make the most of free heat from the sun, but solar heat is not essential for energy efficiency. Key Passive House fundamentals include super insulation, air tightness, elimination of thermal bridges (cold spots), high-quality windows and doors, and ultra-efficient mechanical systems.
A Passive House’s mechanical ventilation removes air pollutants and provides a constant supply of fresh air, resulting in healthier indoor air quality. And the thick insulation keeps out outdoor noise, making the home incredibly quiet, which is especially appreciated during storms. Even as storm activity increases in both intensity and frequency, Passive Houses are much more durable, maintaining a comfortable temperature for days even without electricity.
Passive House designs take building science into account, so there’s no risk of moisture building up and causing mold and rot. Finally, with the addition of a few solar panels, a Passive House can become a Net Zero Home, producing as much energy as it consumes annually. This further reduces your carbon footprint and provides financial peace of mind as energy costs continue to rise.
Why doesn’t everyone build passive houses?
People considering building a new home have some common questions about Passive House, and now the North American Passive House design movement, with over 17 years of construction experience, has the answers.
- Is it too costly?
Passive homes cost 5% to 15% more to build than traditional homes, but if executed carefully, the construction investment can be comparable to building a standard home. - Does it look weird?
Different regions’ climates and building codes will affect the cost of upgrading to a Passive House, but a Passive House can be designed in any style to suit any region. - Who would know how to build it?
The high performance of a Passive House can be achieved by combining various locally available materials that are well known to craftsmen, therefore any experienced contractor can build a Passive House.
The comfort benefits of a passive house
The primary goal of the Passive House design movement is to drastically reduce energy use and minimize carbon emissions, but other unexpected design benefits may be even more important to homeowners.
Passive House design changes the way we think about building homes – it works in harmony with nature, harnesses the sun to heat the home and provides natural lighting.
It captures prevailing winds to cool your home in summer, and this solid design approach protects your living space from cold winter winds. Designed for the natural environment, Passive House creates healthier, warmer, brighter, and more comfortable homes.
Comfort is hard to put into words, but most Passive House owners will tell you that it’s what they love most about living in their home. After all, our homes are a big part of our happiness. They should be an oasis of peace, security, and stability.
Given all these benefits, it’s easy to understand why the Passive House design movement is growing rapidly in North America and why many cities and regions are offering homeowners incentives and discounts for building their homes this way.
About the Author
Natalie Leonard is a Certified Passive House Consultant and Certified Passive House Builder. She is an engineer and Passive Design SolutionsShe has completed over 100 net-zero Passive House projects. Committed to reducing the housing industry’s notable carbon footprint, the team recently launched a line of ready-to-build Passive House design plans and made them available to the public online.
Editor’s note: This article was first published on October 31, 2019 and updated August 2024. Featured image: Off-grid passive house in Ontario, Canada. Photo by David Stewart Media.
