Editor's Notepad

Will Passivhaus or passive solar be the best fit for this project?

comments (0) February 24th, 2011 in Blogs

Scott Gibson, contributing writer

2 users recommend

This all-electric home in Urbana, Illinois, was built to the German Passivhaus standard — a list of specifications that's becoming popular around the world as an energy-efficiency standard to strive for. Is this what our curious homeowner is after?

Photo: Martin Holladay

Add Comment
Print

One reader searches for the best way to build an affordable energy-efficient home

The question is whether Jason Kibbe really wants a house built to rigorous Passivhaus standards. or would a house designed around more general principles of passive solar design be more appropriate to his situation? Kibbe's post at GreenBuildingAdvisor's Q&A forum, and the subject of this week's Q&A Spotlight, could be read either way.

Passive House (from the German Passivhaus) buildings must meet very tough requirements for air infiltration and energy use. As a result, this building approach has made only limited inroads in the U.S.

A passive-solar home, on the other hand, doesn't have a specific performance requirement. The term suggests only a general approach to buidling and might mean different things to different people.

But whether it's Passive or passive that Kibbe's after, answers to his forum question break down nicely into a list of shortcuts to energy efficiency.

Read the whole article at Green Building Advisor.

Further resources

Passive House: The next wave in energy efficiency?

Six proven ways to build energy-smart walls

A net-zero energy house for under $180,000

The future of framing is here

posted in: Blogs, energy efficiency, insulation, weatherizing

Add Comment Print

Back to List

Name This Detail