Half-Assive or Fully-Passive?

Half-Assive or Fully-Passive Talking chicken about Passivhaus and how it works in California

Bronwyn Barry, Assoc. AIA, CPHC One Sky Homes & Passive House BB PHCA President 2012

A Passivhaus overview How does it stack up?

California Projects A few lessons learned

Details, details, details Why chicken?

What’s on the menu

Super-insulated Airtight

No Thermal Bridges Comfortable

Very efficient

Passivhaus Overview

(This drawing by Dan Johnson)

Efficient compared to what?

Source: Numbers given by Mike Eliason on Bruteforcecollaborative Blog post

And what about Title 24?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Windows Walls Roof Floor Total

Typical T-24 Project R-value (hr.ft2°F/BTU.in)

PH Project R-value (hr.ft2°F/BTU.in)

Source: Values based on PHPP for one project in Albany, CA, 2010, by Bronwyn Barry, CPHC.

Who’s building this in CA? Retrofits:

O’Neil Res, Sonoma

CLAM 1, Point Reyes James Res, Marin

Tahan Res, Berkeley

Other retrofits underway in: Oakland, Portola Valley, Sunnyvale, Santa Rosa, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz and more…

Who’s building this in CA? New Construction:

Zen Center, Muir Beach

Zero Cottage, SF Pomona St, Albany

Lemon St, Menlo Park Cottle Res, San Jose CLAM 2, Point Reyes

Project Green Home, Palo Alto

•  ‘Outsulate’ your walls for best forgiveness factor and performance

•  Use triple-pane windows (for now) •  Foundation insulation is key •  Edge of slab insulation is critical •  Overheating is our biggest issue •  Religion relies on faith, everyone

else bring data! (With thanks to Danny Parker)

A few lessons learned

THERM is wonderful (and free)

The details matter

And flashing is still important

But the basics remain

And the results are in

LBNL Study monitored Ten Deep Energy Retrofits

(Including two PH projects)

Both found to perform

AS PREDICTED

Source: Brennan Less & Jeremy Fischer Lawrence Berkeley National Labs

So can we now talk turkey?

Illustrations by Bronwyn Barry for The Essential Urban Farmer, written by Novella Carpenter and Willow Rosenthal and published by Penguin in Dec. 2011

Where to learn more

www.passivehousecal.org THANK YOU Bronwyn Barry, Assoc. AIA, CPHC One Sky Homes & Passive House BB PHCA President 2012