Certified Passive House Design
Homesol Building Solutions continues to be on the leading edge of sustainable building consulting and design with Passive House, a building performance standard that results in about a 90% reduction in heating and cooling energy compared to a standard-built new home.
There are really only four main criteria a Passive House has to meet:
- Less than 15 kWhrs / square metre of treated floor area / year for heating or cooling load
- Air tightness under 0.6 ACH50 (air changes per hour at 50 Pascals)
- Less than 120 kWhrs / m2 / yr. for total energy consumption
- Under 10% overheating from passive solar gain
This is not quite as simple as it may seem at first glance, and it requires an in-depth knowledge of building science and construction detail to make it work, including meticulous attention to air sealing, reduction in thermal bridging, optimizing site orientation and insulation levels, and installing high performance windows and HVAC systems. As one of Canada's most experienced energy modeling companies, with decades of on-site construction experience, and fully trained as a Certified Passive House Planner, Homesol can take your house designs and use the Passive House Planning Package software to determine exactly what you need to do to get to, or perhaps just close to, the Passive House standard.
Our services range from simply modeling the energy performance of your home design, through final testing and certification to the Passive House standard. We can even help you source your materials, and provide on-site construction supervision and training for your building trades to ensure success of your project. If you're interested in achieving the very best level of energy efficiency possible for your building project, we're the people you want to talk to.
We're based in Eastern Ontario, but we can serve anywhere in North America.
First Certified Passive House in Canada
Despite skepticism about building to the Passive House standard in Canada, Homesol Building Solutions Inc. has proven otherwise by certifying a cost-effective urban duplex by Ottawa’s Vert Design Inc. Using standards set by the Passive House Institute, Homesol has given Canada’s first Passive House Certification to a residential home built in the world’s fourth-coldest capital city (after Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Astana, Kazakhstan and Moscow, Russia).
When he started designing his home in Ottawa’s New Edinburgh district, Chris Straka, Principal of Vert Design, was told it likely wouldn’t be possible to build a Passive House in Ottawa’s cold climate unless he imported expensive European technology. Straka then shelved the Passive House objective. He built his house using conventional building materials sourced from North America, as well as his experience honed by consulting on 35 residential green building projects since starting his company in 2006. Though his intention was not to build a Passive House, when he called in Homesol’s President Ross Elliott to evaluate the duplex’s energy efficiency, both men were astounded to learn that the home also met the Passive House Institute’s strict energy efficiency standard.
According to the Passive House Institute, homes built to the Passive House standard are six to eight times more airtight than a new conventional residence and overall use 90% less energy for heating and cooling than conventionally built houses.
Straka’s three-storey, 1,650 sq. ft. per side duplex was carefully designed from the top down, including a 1200 sq. ft. green roof with 12 inches of soil for a vegetable garden, radiant heat floors, a geo-thermal heating system, a high efficiency heat recovery ventilation system, plus a cistern for rainwater collection. A solar power system will be installed in the spring, and – as much as possible – the house is designed to accommodate future technologies. Detailed plans, drawings and descriptions for Straka’s home are on his Web site at: http://www.vertdesign.ca/projects/rideau.htm.
“My goal was to build a building I could be proud of, not necessarily to build a Passive House,” says Straka. “I knew that a very high performing building could be created using Canadian materials and mechanical systems. You don’t need to look overseas to satisfy the demands of a North American climate. I focused my attention on the building’s envelope, using triple-glazed windows, a combination of foam insulations, and I sealed the house carefully to avoid thermal bridges that would transfer energy across the outer walls. All of this plus a south-facing rear wall of windows overlooking the Rideau River, keeps the cold out while inviting heat inside.” As it turns out, Straka’s subterranean heat pump system is barely needed because the house is so efficient.
Straka says it costs about 10% more per square foot to build this passive house than a conventional house, but the energy savings are significant enough that any additional up-front costs can be recovered in 6 to 10 years. “Any custom home in Ottawa will cost about $225 a square foot to build. For $250 a square foot, you can have the ultimate in energy efficiency.”
According to Elliott, Straka’s certification achievement is an important milestone. “Several other houses are underway across the country, so this landmark certification will pave the way for the expansion and legitimacy of Passive House construction in Canada,” said Elliott, “Chris Straka has proven it can be done.”
It is being done elsewhere in the world. Passive or low energy houses are quickly becoming a European standard. All new buildings in the European Union must be nearly zero energy buildings by 2020 and member states will set intermediate targets for 2015. “Nearly Zero Energy Buildings” are similar to Passive Houses in that they require only a very small amount of energy input. By 2018, all new public buildings in the EU will also be Nearly Zero Energy. Canadian-born celebrity homebuilder Mike Holmes calls Passive House “an up-and-coming design standard.”
Call Homesol's residential energy design specialists today at 613-278-0467 or 1-877-278-0467.