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Design

The Passive House Build, Part 1: Designed for Success

In this video architect Steve Baczek walks us through the process of designing and building a neighborhood home to meet the strict Passive House energy-efficiency standard.

Built to meet the world’s most rigorous standard for energy-efficient construction, a Passive House uses about one-tenth the energy of a similarly sized code-built house, a feat accomplished by carefully harmonizing countless design and construction details. At the time of this writing, just 71 houses have earned the Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) certification.

Watch the videos and read the articles in this series (links below), then head on over to GreenBuildingAdvisor.com to join the conversation with the designer of this house, Architect Steve Baczek.

All articles in this series:

“The Passive House Build, Part One: Designed for Success” (FHB #240)
“The Passive House Build, Part Two: Air-Sealed Mudsill Assembly” (FHB #241)
“The Passive House Build, Part Three: Superinsulated Slab” (FHB #242)
“The Passive House Build, Part Four: Framing for Efficiency” (FHB #244)
“The Passive House Build, Part Five: Installing High-Performance Windows” (FHB #245)

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Videos in the Series

  • The Passive House Build, Part 1: Designed for Success

    In this video architect Steve Baczek walks us through the process of designing and building a neighborhood home to meet the strict Passive House energy-efficiency standard.

  • How to Air-Seal Mudsills

    In this video, architect Steve Baczek demonstrates how to create an airtight connection between the framing and foundation, a critical component to a Passive House.

  • The Passive House Build, Part 3: Superinsulated Slab

    Watch the crew install a 10-inch-thick insulated slab assembly, which provides an R value of 50 in the floor system.

  • The Passive House Build, Part 4: Framing for Efficiency

    Double-stud walls and trusses create the ideal shell for an economical and efficient building.

  • How to Install High-Performance Windows

    In this video, architect Steve Baczek explains the challenges of installing this unique window package.

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About This Video Series

Built to meet the world’s most rigorous standard for energy-efficient construction, a Passive House uses about one-tenth the energy of a similarly sized code-built house, a feat accomplished by carefully harmonizing countless design and construction details. At the time of this writing, just 71 houses have earned the Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) certification. Watch the videos and read the articles in this series (links below), then head on over to GreenBuildingAdvisor.com to join the conversation with the… More about this Video Series

View Comments

  1. user-397214 | Mar 20, 2017 08:07pm | #1

    Great video and content.. the rock music is distracting and unnecessary.. silence = concentration.

  2. buygoodwine | Jan 25, 2018 06:20pm | #2

    The companion article link is broken.

  3. FJN | Oct 11, 2019 11:36am | #3

    It's great that you are able to build a high performance home. However,aesthetics is paramount. That is what most green builders fail to understand ; no matter how green if it is not pretty,it will eventually end up in the landfill.

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Fine Homebuilding Magazine

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  • Issue 331 - June 2025
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