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Showing posts from May, 2024

Passive House Packchat Recap

Rough collection of notes from our recent visit to Elisabeth Post-Marner's Passive House. What is a a passive house? Simply put, a Passive House is a dwelling that uses the sun as an energy source for heating and cooling  Site orientation is critical to its success:  south orientation with many windows  There are 5 things that need to be done to achieve this: Continuous insulation Airtight construction using seals, overlaps  Triple glazed windows Energy Recovery Ventilation which brings fresh air into the house 24/7 Thermal bridge free  Supplemental heating and cooling using a heat pump method  The concepts of Passive House support a healthy indoor environment but we chose to take additional steps by doing the following: Construct the house with natural materials (ex:  insulation in walls is cellulose from recycled newspapers rather than standard fiberglass or “Batt” insulation)  Use finishes and furnishings that are VOC (volatile organic compounds) free  Use robust filter in o