Home Rebuilt as Passive Solar

We built a house that we hope meets the German “passive house” standard. Meeting the passive house standard does seem a daunting task. The amount of planning, coordination, and quality control are critical to minimize or eliminate thermal bridges, get the insulation and air sealing details right, and build a house tight enough to meet the 0.6 Ach 50 blower door testing.

Though in the beginning it does seem like a big undertaking, we believe it is worth the extra effort and expense. In order to assist in meeting our goal of building a certified passive house we have engaged the services of Chris West with Eco Houses of Vermont. Chris is a certified passive house consultant and has been a great help in walking us through the air sealing, wall/insulation sections, and overall durability of the finished home. This truly is all in the details!

This house is being constructed on a beautiful parcel of farmland in South Hero, Vermont, fronting on the East Shore. In April of this 2014 the original house, built in 1979-1980, burned to the ground. Fortunately nobody was home, but a lot of memories were lost.