The North American Passive House Network has published an e-book explaining the basics of Passivhaus and net-zero-energy construction techniques. It’s a free download.

Net Zero Energy Buildings: Passive House + Renewables makes the case that with very low air infiltration and lots of insulation, Passivhaus buildings are natural candidates for net-zero-energy operation with the incorporation of some renewable energy.

The book, written by Mary James of Low Carbon Productions, explains the fundamentals of all Passivhaus structures: insulation, thermally insulated window frames with high quality glazing, techniques that minimize thermal bridging, essentially airtight construction, and mechanical ventilation.

A section called “Leading Regions” tours areas where Passivhaus construction has been parcticularly successful. They include parts of Europe, Canada, and both New York and San Francisco.

Individual projects are showcased in a section called “Beacons.” Each description offers a summary of the project along with a spec box detailing predicted heating and cooling energy, square footage, and air leakage. You’ll get the very basics of construction, but no detailed descriptions or drawings. However, links at the bottom of each description will take readers to one or more websites where more information may be available–the architect on the project, for instance, or the company that installed the renewable-energy system.

There’s both new construction and some retrofits, single-family, and multifamily. Projects come from all over the country.

If you’re a veteran high-performance builder, you’re not going to find much here you didn’t already know, but you will see some  attractive examples of Passivhaus building that might be new to you. If you’ve been hearing about Passivhaus and would like to know more about what that really entails, this is a good place to start.

Read more: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news%2A#ixzz3jNpWjjIa 
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