Kylemore Project Sign

New Infill Passive Designed

Net Zero Energy Home

Address: 482 Kylemore   -  Square Footage: 1381

What is a Passive Building?

Passive House buildings consume up to 90 percent less heating and cooling energy than conventional buildings and are being built all over the world.

Key attributes of the Passive House Standard

• Increased insulation values to the point that you no longer need a conventional heating system (e.g. forced air furnace).

• Uses 80-90% less energy for heating/cooling than conventional houses—A Passive House uses the equivalent amount of energy used by a hair dryer, saving $$$.
• Balanced ventilation is provided by a high performance Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) that includes a summer by pass and a sub soil heat exchanger to temper the incoming air for both heating/cooling.

• Achieves long term energy savings over the home’s lifetime;
• Results in a warm and quiet building; and
• Contributes to occupant health—studies show that occupants of Passive Design office and school buildings experience less sick days.

Using the sun: Net Zero Energy

Passive Building Design uses the sun (solar energy through the windows) for a third of its space heating requirements.  South facing windows take advantage of free energy from the sun for heating. The solar photovoltaic system will generate enough power to reduce the annual energy bill to zero.

Stay comfortable:  Passive Houses are praised for the high level of comfort they offer. Internal room surface temperatures vary little from indoor air temperatures, which reduces the sense of drafts, even in the face of extreme outdoor temperatures.

Insulation keeps you warm in the winter & cool in the summer: Of all the technologies available, research shows that insulation has the best value/dollar for lowering heating costs & conserving energy.

What is air sealing & why is it important?

In conventionally built houses, uncontrolled air leakage moves moisture through the building assemblies and causes mold and rot (walls, roof, attics, etc.) You also lose heat through these leaks, which costs $$$, and is less comfortable.

In a Passive House, air sealing allows you to control the ventilation rate (avoid uncontrolled air leakage) using an HRV.

To meet the Passive house standard, the building must test below 0.6 air changes per hour.

How does an HRV work?

An HRV is a controlled, balanced ventilation system that reduces high humidity, indoor pollutants and odors by replacing stale air with fresh outdoor air. Exhaust air is not only stale and damp, but warm. It is this warmth that is used to pre-heat fresh air as it enters the HRV.

You could have a Net Zero Energy Home

You can live in a home with superior air quality, amazing comfort and zero annual energy costs. Using our construction method and a solar system you can have these features. Contact us for detailed information.

EnerPhit – Retrofit standard from Passive House

We also apply the same processes to provide Deep Energy Retrofits of older homes. We follow Passive House’s EnerPhit standard to achieve similar energy savings. If you are planning major repairs or upgrades (e.g. new roof, additional insulation, new windows) to your existing house now is a good time to consider renovating to the EnerPhit standard.

Added: Wed May 10th 2017