What Is Passive House Construction?
Passive House is not a brand name; it’s a construction concept.
“Going green” is growing in popularity everywhere, but to be classified as a Passive House, EcoBuild+ experts must ensure their houses are built to significantly cut your carbon footprint, be energy efficient and affordable, and maintain optimum comfort levels inside your home.
Specific standards were initially developed by the Passivhaus Institute after years of research. Today, these standards are accepted by architects, developers, and contractors worldwide.
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Invest in Green
Nowadays, “going green” is the only way to go. As a result, “building green” and passive homes are growing in popularity everywhere. Passive houses are built to significantly cut your carbon footprint and be energy efficient, including taking very little energy to cool or heat your home. It is both a building methodology and comfort standard. For homeowners everywhere, it means a reduction of your power bills as well.
To be classified as a passive house, a building must meet the best practices guidelines for keeping outside temperatures outside while maintaining a stable temperature inside. Furthermore, the air quality inside needs to be high-quality as well. These “best practices” were initially developed by the Passive House Institute (PHI) based on years of research. Today, they are used by thousands of architects, contractors, and developers worldwide. All homes designated “a passive house” are built according to these standards for energy-efficiency and carbon footprint.
Passive houses require good ventilation including maintaining interior temperature by keeping an air-tight environment. This might require continuous insulation, triple-paned windows, and an overall efficient air-quality control system. In addition, they also need to remove thermal bridging, a problem that occurs when the temperature is transferred from one object to another through physical contact.
Passive house techniques can make your home up to 90% more energy-efficient than the average home today. This makes owning a passive home not only more comfortable but significantly cheaper to maintain. Furthermore, it’s good for the environment overall.
Building a Passive House
All homes designated as a Passive House must be built according to these standards:
- Energy efficiency: By using air-tight construction that passes the blower door test, as well as properly locating and insulating windows and doors, Passive Houses save 75-90% on energy costs related to the heating and cooling of your home.
- Air Quality: A ventilation system continuously supplies fresh air throughout the home and protects you from unnecessary drafts. It also reduces Radon levels in the home and, along with the airtight construction of the home, uses a heat recovery unit to further improve energy cost savings.
- Interior Comfort: The energy efficiencies and ventilation system of a Passive House naturally improve interior comfort levels. Plus, by removing thermal bridging, Passive Houses eliminate cold corners where metal beams create contact points with exterior walls.
- Affordability: Passive Houses are good short term and long term investments. While upfront material costs may be high, the overall costs are drastically reduced by eliminating the need for expensive heating and cooling systems.
- Ecology: By using sustainable materials, energy-efficient fixtures, materials with low carbon footprints, and environmentally-friendly building methodologies, Passive Houses guarantee less harmful materials will be introduced into the environment for generations to come.
Whether you are building a new home or retrofitting your existing structure, contact EcoBuild+ and partner with us as we design and build buildings that are more resource-friendly, budget-friendly, and overall healthier for you and our Earth.
Take it from Our Clients
Jennifer S.
New Construction Home
Jenn M.
Bathroom Remodeling
Kim M.
Kitchen Remodeling
Get in Touch
If you have a vision for the passive house of your dreams but don’t know where to start, contact us and we walk you through every step of the process. It’s our goal to help you lower your utility costs and create a comfortable, healthy space for your family, without posing any harm to the Earth.
Whether you seek new construction or a bath, kitchen or basement renovation, as Chicago’s best general contractors, we provide a level of customer service that matches our craftsmanship, ensuring that your goals are met on-time and on-budget.
Design
Creating a true custom passive home takes time and attention; at EcoBuild+ we work to bring your visions to reality.
Quality
Quality craftsmanship, efficient design, unsurpassed customer service, and experience are some of the core values of our company.
Experience
EcoBuild+ is committed to giving you a personal experience during the entire home building process.