Climate Solutions

Now you can install the walls for a passive house building in a single day. A passive house is a very high standard super-insulated building that reduces the heating or cooling load by an incredible 80% – 90%. Needless to say it takes very little energy to heat or cool a passive house. In the past this way of building has seemed challenging both in terms of cost and difficulty. The walls are thick and a little complicated, with several insulation layers. The Passive House standard will soon be required by the building code in Germany and several other countries.

Build Smart prefab modules are available from Prosoco in Kansas and consist of 2×4 and 2×6 insulated, sheathed, air-sealed, frames covered with rigid EPS foam. They are craned into position and snap together on-site like Lego. Then they are joined together with a fluid sealant. Door frames and energy-efficient triple-pane windows from Klearwall are pre-installed in the factory. The initial cost of building this way is the same as conventional building methods. That was a key goal of the manufacturer. A 2400 square foot home in Minden, Ontario was recently built this way and will have an annual heating demand of just 16,644 BTUs. The house will be heated with a 2-kilowatt coil and an energy recovery ventilator. No furnace needed.

Photos BF Nagy, bfnagy.com, #manwithaplan, #cleanenergy, #passivehouse, clean energy, green building, save energy, climate change, sustainability.