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Project
Utah Passive House (Mill Creek, Utah, USA)
Credits: ©2009 Our Passive House
There's a website called Our Passive House, where the owners are documenting the design and construction of the first Passive House in Utah. The owners are on Twitter @ourpassivehouse. Designed by Brach Design, Utah's first certified Passive House consultant, this energy-efficient home fits in to the context of the established neighborhood where its two-door style mirrors a look that's already common with many existing homes. When completed, the 3,000 square-foot home should show high energy performance numbers. It features passive design, photovoltaics, solar hot water, super insulation and many other design ideas.
©2009 Brach Design
Our Passive House by the Numbers:
heating degree days - 4838
cooling degree days - 1278
finished floor area - 180 sq. m, 3000 sq. ft
foundation continuous spread footing, insulated with 2" high density EPS foam
basement wall - ICF with interior 2x4 wall, insulated with high density fiberglass
wall framing - 12" wide double stud wall, 24" on center
wall insulation - 12" blown in high density fiberglass
roof framing - prefabricated trusses
roof insulation - 24" blown in high density fiberglass
windows - foam-filled fiberglass frames, double pane glazing with suspended film and eco-spacers, argon/krypton fill, .51 SHGC south, .31 N, E, W; average overall total unit U-value : .18 Btu/hr ft2 =1.02 W/(m2K)
ventilation system - 95% sensible effectiveness ERV
heating system - 98% efficient gas tankless water heater with low temperature radiant tubing in slabs; domestic hot water same
cooling system - 40 SEER evaporative cooler
active system to become net zero
source energy 3.5 kW PV system
site energy 6.5 kW PV system
Documents
In Defense of the Passive House Standard (334 kb)
PassivHaus Becomes Active—Further Commentary on PassivHaus (196 kb)
The Passive House (Passivhaus) Standard—A comparison to other cold climate low-energy houses (531 kb)
Illinois Passiv Haus (USA) (549 kb)
Resources
Passive House Institute (Germany)
