A Passiv Haus, my next house
Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 8:33 pm
So the story starts in the late 1970's energy (oil) crisis, several gov't agencies decided to build a house that was very energy efficient dubbed the "Saskatchewan House" as a study on what could be done.
http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/energy-ef ... ouses.html
It was full of "wacky" ideas: great windows facing south, thick insulated walls, solar heat collectors, etc. it was dubbed a great success (no heating system) and, like many other great Canadian ideas, it was promptly forgotten.
In the late 1980's the Germans discovered it, and took the ideas and worked on them and created a whole industry around the "Passiv Haus" and today 80,000 houses and commercial buildings are in use and require almost nothing to heat in winter or cool in summer.
So North Americans have now "discovered" this great German (Canadian) idea, and many architects are happy to help you design a new (or redesign an old) building to this standard.
The bottom line is 1. Thick well insulated walls and ceiling, 2. Super efficient High quality windows and doors, 3. Face the windows south if possible, 4. Large roof overhangs so the walls are shaded in summer and get the winter sun (the sun is at a different angle at different seasons) 5. Recover heat from hot water, or other house heat such as a clothes dryer.
http://greenenergydoorsopen.ca
So Green Energy Doors Open is an event in early September where houses all over are open for a tour. So I took a couple of friends for a tour. All the houses shared the above features including the front door was thick and felt like the door of a bank vault and the windows were as well and most made in Europe as our manufacturers didn't do things to that standard.
One house was a "showpiece" full of ideas by an architect: including a clothes dryer made by Whirlpool that collected all the heat and a water system where the water from showers and sinks was reused to run the toilets (these ideas doable for any house).
Worth a look is the house "kits" by Ekobuilt where you hire a local contractor for the work and 90% of materials you can buy at your local building supply and only certain materials needed with the kit. They also have a display house you can visit by appointment.
https://ottawapassivehouse.com/prefab-p ... ouse-kits/
Compared to our old farmhouse with 4 additions (bloody cold and maybe three fires burning), these houses you could heat with almost nothing (i'd still want a woodstove, just a tiny one!).
http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/energy-ef ... ouses.html
It was full of "wacky" ideas: great windows facing south, thick insulated walls, solar heat collectors, etc. it was dubbed a great success (no heating system) and, like many other great Canadian ideas, it was promptly forgotten.
In the late 1980's the Germans discovered it, and took the ideas and worked on them and created a whole industry around the "Passiv Haus" and today 80,000 houses and commercial buildings are in use and require almost nothing to heat in winter or cool in summer.
So North Americans have now "discovered" this great German (Canadian) idea, and many architects are happy to help you design a new (or redesign an old) building to this standard.
The bottom line is 1. Thick well insulated walls and ceiling, 2. Super efficient High quality windows and doors, 3. Face the windows south if possible, 4. Large roof overhangs so the walls are shaded in summer and get the winter sun (the sun is at a different angle at different seasons) 5. Recover heat from hot water, or other house heat such as a clothes dryer.
http://greenenergydoorsopen.ca
So Green Energy Doors Open is an event in early September where houses all over are open for a tour. So I took a couple of friends for a tour. All the houses shared the above features including the front door was thick and felt like the door of a bank vault and the windows were as well and most made in Europe as our manufacturers didn't do things to that standard.
One house was a "showpiece" full of ideas by an architect: including a clothes dryer made by Whirlpool that collected all the heat and a water system where the water from showers and sinks was reused to run the toilets (these ideas doable for any house).
Worth a look is the house "kits" by Ekobuilt where you hire a local contractor for the work and 90% of materials you can buy at your local building supply and only certain materials needed with the kit. They also have a display house you can visit by appointment.
https://ottawapassivehouse.com/prefab-p ... ouse-kits/
Compared to our old farmhouse with 4 additions (bloody cold and maybe three fires burning), these houses you could heat with almost nothing (i'd still want a woodstove, just a tiny one!).