3 Sources of Heat for High-Performance Homes
Earlier this week I wrote about the three main sources of heat in homes. At the end of the article I threw in a fourth one, solar energy, but then I dismissed it as something that people tried in the…
Passive House
This System Reduces the Passive House Complexity Problem
If you want to build a superinsulated, airtight house, you run into some difficulties. How do you deal with the extra thickness of your walls and ceilings when you add all that extra insulation? What's the best way to ensure…
7 Things I Learned at the North American Passive House Conference
Yesterday I returned home from the North American Passive House Conference. It was great, as it always is. Wait. No, this was the best one yet. On the 10th anniversary of the first conference, PHIUS put on an amazing conference.…
Only One Person Can Fix the Passive House Rift
In the beginning, there was passivhaus. That was way back in the 1990s. Then the Passive House Institute US, having been thrown out of the party for blasphemy, said, no, passive house started in North America in the 1970s and…
Why a New Standard for Passive House?
There's this thing called passive house. It's a terrible name. Almost everyone agrees on that. Look at how its adherents are driven to a frenzy and you'll see that the name doesn't really fit. The houses themselves aren't passive either,…