I recently saw listed on the Green City Blue Lake calendar an opportunity to tour a passive house that was recently constructed in the Cleveland area this week. The tour was booked, but I stopped by yesterday at the site of the house to take a peek.
What is a passive house? (or Passivhaus in German?) The basic idea of a Passive House is to reduce the energy usage of a home by 90% over traditional code built homes, and is the highest energy standard in a building. Well-insulated, almost air-tight – a passive house minimizes energy loss through excellent thermal performance, exceptional airtightness with mechanical ventilation.
“Passive” describes the idea of energy receptivity and retention The house works with natural resources and free solar energy, and does not work with any “active” systems.
Often passive houses have triple-glazed windows, are super-insulated, and have a airtight shell around it – which helps balance heating, cooling, and ventilation.
In the last 10 years more than 15,000 buildings in Europe have been designed and built or remodeled to the passive house standard. -Single and multifamily residences, schools, factories and office buildings have all been built with the passive house design. There have been over 30,000 passive houses built to date, many after the year 2000.
In the Cleveland area, the second house applying for Passive House certification was completed and is the Butler-Nissen house located at 2200 Devonshire Dr. in Cleveland Heights, OH. The tour of the house was booked last Saturday, but be on the lookout for more tours of the home in the future.
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