PASSIVE
building
An introduction
Certified Passive House, GO Home, Belfast, ME
buildings
CHINA -18,100,000,000 SF PER YEAR
June report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE),
75% electricity
50% carbon
World Energy Use
U.S. share of world energy consumption: 26%
U.S. share of world CO2 emissions:
24%
U.S. share of world population:
4.6%
Ratio - per capita consumption of energy in developed
vs. developing countries: 10 times
Sources: The Energy Information Administration; The United Nations Energy Committee
US people
US energy/
CO2
www.globalchange.gov
Global Climate Change
1928
2004
© 2009
Robby
Schwarz www.nrglogic.com
Lance Wright
Source: Time magazine April, 2006
“Passive”
A rigorous, voluntary building
energy standard focusing on a
high performance envelope with a
resulting minimized mechanical
system.
The Passive House Standard:
The “magic numbers” of Passive House
Why these numbers?
Cost Effectiveness Trick
“Passive”
(roughly more efficient than what we build today)
The Passive House Standard:
CATEGORY:
AVERAGE U.S. NEW
CONSTRUCTION (2007):
PASSIVE HOUSE:
36.6 kBTU/ft2yr
(4.75 kBTU/ft2yr)
< 1.39 kWh/ft2yr
(up to 90% better)
2- Total Primary Energy Use per year: (56.64 kBTU/ft2yr)
(38 kBTU/ft2yr)
< 11.13 kWh/ft2yr
(up to 70% better)
3- Airtightness:
n50 < 0.6 ACH
(up to 90% better)
1- Space Specific Heating
or Cooling Demand per year:
n50 = 3ACH to 5 ACH
A BTU is defined as the amount of heat required to raise
the temperature of one pound of water by one degree
Fahrenheit.
(about 5,000 BTU/hour to heat a 1500 square foot
passive house on the coldest day of the year, vs a typical
house is 100,000 BTU furnace
The Passive House Standard:
Watt this means:
Heat your 1500 sf house with 1500w
or the energy of (15) 100w light bulbs
on the coldest hour of the year
Passive house heating system:
1500 watts
$14.99 + tax
(no Photovoltaic .i.e.
solar electric panels,
roughly here (solar hot
water potentially)
(WITH Photovoltaic .i.e.
solar electric panels, can
be negative HERS score
or PLUS ENERGY
Eugene LEGER HOUSE
The Leger House looked like a conventional American home, heated
only by its own water heater!
1979
William Shurcliff, 1979 Press Release:
“1. Truly superb insulation. Not just thick, but clever and thorough.
Excellent insulation is provided even at the most difficult places: sills,
headers, foundation walls, windows, electric outlet boxes, etc.
2. Envelope of house is practically airtight. Even on the windiest days
the rate of air change is very low.
3. No provision of extra-large thermal mass. (Down with Trombe walls!
Down with water-filled drums and thick concrete floors!)
4. No provision of extra-large south windows. Use normal number
and size of south windows — say 100 square feet.
5. No conventional furnace. Merely steal a little heat, when and if
needed, from the domestic hot water system. Or use a minuscule amount
of electrical heating.”
“6. No conventional distribution system for such auxiliary heat. Inject
the heat at one spot and let it diffuse throughout the house.
7. No weird shape of house, no weird architecture.
8. No big added expense. The costs of the extra insulation and extra
care in construction are largely offset by the savings realized from not
having huge areas of expensive Thermopane [windows], not having
huge well-sealed insulating shutters for huge south windows, and not
having a furnace or a big heat distribution system.
9. The passive solar heating is very modest — almost incidental.
10. Room humidity remains near 50 percent all winter. No need for
humidifiers.
11. In summer the house stays cool automatically. There is no
tendency for the south side to become too hot — because the south
window area is small and the windows are shaded by eaves”.
1980 with
14 superinsulated homes, and then with 140
Larger developments followed in Canada in
superinsulated homes in Minnesota in the US.
1982-83 Canada sponsors the R2000 program with
free training for builders and small subsidies to offset cost
and requirement for an airtightness test: a blower-door
test. Over
1000 homes were built.
Conservative estimate of total superinsulated homes
1985 in the US and Canada is 10,000.
It doesn’t
have to cost more…….
$100k
Community Rebuilds – passive project in the works?
Moab, Utah
$100k
Community Rebuilds – passive project in the works?
Moab, Utah
$250k
Empowerhouse Solar Decathlon - Habitat for Humanity Passive project
Deanwood neighborhood of D.C.
$250k
Empowerhouse Solar Decathlon - Habitat for Humanity Passive project
Deanwood neighborhood of D.C.
$250k
Empowerhouse Solar Decathlon - Habitat for Humanity Passive project
Deanwood neighborhood of D.C.
Winner 2012 CRES award
$350k
2100 square foot near passive house project
Total energy $ per year:
Heating:
Slab:
Walls:
Roof:
Windows:
Ventilation:
Hot water:
Electric:
$300
100% Electric
R-40
R-40
R-70
R-5 (.56 SHGC)
96% heat recovery
Single 4x8 panel Solar
thermal
3.3kW pv
system(4600kWh / yr)
ALPINE PASSIVE HOUSE
Boulder, Colorado
$400k
2500 square foot straw bale passive house project
TEAM:
FUENTESDESIGN
LOPEZ SMOLENS ASSOCIATES CONSULTING ENGINEERS
LIGHTLY TREADING
SLM CONSTRUCTION
ARTESANO PLASTER
ZOLA EUROPEAN WINDOWS
ULTIMATE AIR
LIGHTLY TREADING
PREFAB + STRAW BALE
ALTITUDE: 7,105
HEATING DEGREE DAYS: 7,051
SSHD: 4.58 kBTU/(FT2YR)
PENDING CERTIFICATION
• FIRE REBUILD
• 6kW PV
• LOW EMBODIED ENERGY STRAW
BALE WALL SYSTEM
• THERMAL MASS STORAGE
• ELECTRIC IN-FLOOR RADIANT
• HEAT PUMP HOT WATER HEATER
• 90% LED LIGHTING
VENTILATION – 90% +/- RECOVERY OF HEAT
SOLAR PATHFINDER…
SHADING...
FINDING AIR LEAKS….
STATUS: PASSED AIR TEST,
CLIENT TO REMOVE
BURNED TREES TO CERTIFY
SHADING
lighting
Incandescent 20 l/w
20 l/w
T5 FLUORESCENT
100 l/w
Stanley elec.white LED
150 l/w
CREE lab record LED
276 l /w
refrigeration
Subzero Pro 48
Energy Star limit
Sunfrost RF16
691 kWh/yr
481 kWh/yr
240 kWh/yr
windows
ENERGY STAR
R-3
.3 SHGC
ALPEN 725H
R-5
.48 SHGC
THERM RESULTS in straw bale wall:
(R-6.31 FRAME)
.5 SHGC / .088 U / R-11.36
ψ INSTALL= -.006 (Btu/hr.ft2.F)
R-8
.48 SHGC
Window Interior Surface Temperature
(+2 degrees F outside)
Wall Interior Surface Temperature
(+2 degrees F outside)