Ted ,

I am also in process of building a residential unit using this concept. Are you designing the house yourself?

I am looking for someone to help me plan and design mine, with exception that I am in southern California and have read about the technology that can reduce energy usage by approximately 80% and using  the passive house technology,

Regards,

Benjamin,

There are several books out there, such as the one I mentioned, that details the basic concepts. The end result is based upon what you build out of concerning R-Values for windows, walls, floors, and roof. I have chosen adobe because it provides other values that wood and concrete do not. It is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter based upon it's ability to hold and release moisture.

The passive solar house book I mentioned was good in that it spells out all the values you need to consider. The end result is you have some heat load that you will have to make up in the form of some source such as a boiler, furnace, radiant, wood, etc. What ever is your slant. I plan to use radiant flooring and solar panels to heat the fluid. It gives you a way to calculate the light exposure to your floors, heat loss through your windows, walls and roof, and as I stated, a net amount of BTU's you wil have to have as backup for those cold cloudy days you cannot plan for.

There are a lot of designs you can get to give you a starting point. From what I have read, the passive solar home is pretty typical except for the fact you minimize glazing on the north, less on the east and west, and most on the south, not to exceed a certain amount, such as the 8% you mentioned. The design I bought was already passive solar, which also has a celestry set of south facing windows to provide light/heat to the center back (north side) of the house.

In the end, you heat the floor mass with your south facing glazing, store it in the floors, and in my case the adobe walls, for nighttime use. Anyway, that is supposed to be the way it works.

Bill

Bill,

Thanks for your information. Meanwhile I was searching on the internet and came across a company that has perfected this passive house concept and according to the information their standard is being implemented into all the European construction building codes for energy conservation and reductions of excessive fuel costs.

I am now trying in Los Angeles to find an architect that can help me make sense and help me design my house.

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Here is a link to one of the European Passivhaus sites:

http://www.passiv.de/

If you google on Passivhaus you will get a lot of links to follow.

The basic elements of a Passivhaus seem to be:

·         Compact form and good insulation

·         Southern orientation and shade considerations

·         Energy-efficient window glazing and frames

·         Building envelope air-tightness

·         Passive preheating of fresh air.

·         Highly efficient heat recovery from exhaust air using an air-to-air heat exchanger

·         Hot water supply using regenerative energy sources

·         Energy-saving household appliances

I think they have it right….it is common sense.  Super insulation and airtight construction with a dedicated ventilation system are key elements.  The climates for south Texas and Canada are different so there is not a common solution.

With respect to thermal mass, it must be exposed to the space to be fully effective.  Accordingly, most ICFs do not fully mobilize the mass of the concrete on daily temperature fluctuations because of the inner insulation layer.   

xexpat

Dteltech,

Information you requested is attached. I think the site address is also there if not contact me at my e-mail and will give you addtional info.

I am looking to get this technology for my project,

Regards,

Benjamin