Kicking the Tires on a Passivhaus Project

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The first in a series of articles on planning and building a single-family Passivhaus in Maine

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_[Editor's note: Roger and Lynn Normand are building a PassivhausA residential building construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. Developed in the early 1990s by Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist, the standard is now promoted by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. To meet the standard, a home must have an infiltration rate no greater than 0.60 AC/H @ 50 pascals, a maximum annual heating energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (4,755 Btu per square foot), a maximum annual cooling energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (1.39 kWh per square foot), and maximum source energy use for all purposes of 120 kWh per square meter (11.1 kWh per square foot). The standard recommends, but does not require, a maximum design heating load of 10 W per square meter and windows with a maximum U-factor of 0.14. The Passivhaus standard was developed for buildings in central and northern Europe; efforts are underway to clarify the best techniques to achieve the standard for buildings in hot climates. in Maine. Their goals are modest: "Passivhaus, LEED**Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.** LEED for Homes is the residential green building program from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). While this program is primarily designed for and applicable to new home projects, major gut rehabs can qualify. Platinum, net zeroProducing as much energy on an annual basis as one consumes on site, usually with renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics or small-scale wind turbines. Calculating net-zero energy can be difficult, particularly in grid-tied renewable energy systems, because of transmission losses in power lines and other considerations., universal access, and sustainable." This is the first article in a series that will follow their project from planning through construction.]_

[1]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog-river/Chris Briley discusses EdgewaterHaus 2.jpg (Photo of Chris Briley discussing plans for Roger Normand's Passivhaus)
[2]: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/kicking-tires-passivhaus-project

URL: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/guest-blogs/kicking-tires-passivhaus-project