A Practical Approach to Passive House
An architect's "best work to date" is a super-efficient home that you could build.
Synopsis: Passive House standards are the strictest residential-building parameters in the United States. Because of that, details such as window selection and the continuity of a bead of caulk can make the difference between whether or not a house is tight enough to meet the standards. Architect Steven Baczek describes in this article how he built a Passive House with standard building materials and construction techniques. Key to the project’s success was lots of planning and buy-in from everyone involved: the homeowner, the architect, the energy consultant, the general contractor, and the subs. Together, they built a house that conforms to Baczek’s goal in building high-performance houses: They should convert energy as inexpensively as possible and hold on to that energy for as long as possible. Baczek provides detailed construction plans for the following tasks: building double walls (one 2×4 and one 2×6), insulating above the slab, breaking the thermal…
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