2023-08-14 09:40:18
August 14, 2023 | Gero GröschelThe three passive houses in Boston should offer clean indoor air, lower emissions and low energy costs. (Image: Rodearchitects.com)
A passive house is characterized by a particularly high level of energy efficiency. The main goal is to drastically reduce energy consumption for heating, cooling and ventilation. An engineering office has now taken thrift to the extreme.
The term “passive house” was coined in Germany in the 1990s and stands for the idea that such a building obtains a large part of its heating and cooling energy from passive sources such as solar radiation, waste heat from appliances and human body heat. Active heating or cooling systems should be largely avoided. Passive houses are an important contribution to reducing energy consumption and combating climate change. In Boston, three adjacent homes were designed to achieve reduced emissions and little to no energy bills.
A passive house is a self-contained system
The Wall Street Journal visited homeowners to ask about their experiences about a year after moving in. “It got freezing cold this winter and we were in shorts,” says Amod Athavale, who has lived in the newly built home with his wife since July 2022. This summer the house stayed at 22 to 24 degrees, even though it was over 38 degrees Celsius outside. The air conditioning only ran a few hours a day. In fact, their electric bill currently has a negative balance of about $1,000, which means they owe them money from the electric company.
Your home is one of three adjacent, certified passive houses. The houses were designed by the Boston residents Rode Architects. The structures utilize airtight construction, triple-glazed windows, a foundation of 30cm thick concrete slabs resting on 20cm thick foam blocks. In addition, there is sophisticated sun protection to make conventional heating and cooling systems superfluous.
Heating and cooling is provided by small mini split heating pumps connected to a condenser outside the house. The house also uses an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilation System) to circulate the air to maintain a clean and fresh indoor air environment. In winter, the system extracts heat from the exhaust air and transfers it to the incoming air, reducing the heating load instead of burning gas or oil. These air ducts run throughout the home to remove stale air and draw in fresh air. The system exchanges the entire volume of air five to seven times a day.
The passive house with attached garage. (Image: Rodearchitects.com)
Living with the passive house needs to be learned
Passive house technology reduces carbon emissions by using less energy and allows people to live more comfortably. In return, they pay lower energy costs, he adds. In addition, all three homeowners have opted for the installation of solar panels.
While it may be more expensive to construct a Passive House initially, new technologies are shrinking the difference. A passive house currently costs 5 to 15 percent more than conventional houses. Highly insulated windows and exterior materials are expensive, as is installing solar panels. However, cost differences can be reduced with good planning. Homes of this type also offer higher air quality – particularly lower levels of particulate matter and other pollutants – due to the tight envelope and filtered ventilation systems. Additionally, they make it possible to maintain a safe indoor temperature for several days during a power outage in extreme weather.
The more conscious, correct handling of a passive house is disadvantageous. Its systems differ from simply turning the heating or air conditioning on and off. Opening windows at random can also mess up the filigree energy management of the house. Some homeowners therefore shy away from the necessary effort to live in a passive house.
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