Spotlight: International Passive House Open Days

Passive House California Open Days
image-slider-with-thumbnail7.jpeg
Slide
PlayPause
Passive House California Open Days
image-slider-with-thumbnail7.jpeg
previous arrow
next arrow

 

International Passive Open House Days | July 2024

This summer California has been experiencing a heat dome with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees F in much of the state.  Suffering under such extremes makes people wonder what they can do to make their living and working places better.  The benefits of Passive House were on display this past June 28-30 with 6 houses participating in the International Passive House Open Days.  These are bi-annual events to provide people and opportunity to tour and experience Passive Houses.  This year was very special with houses covering a wide geographical area with locations in Bishop, Los Angeles, Morongo Valley, Orange, Pebble Beach and Sacramento.

In Sacramento over 90 people toured architect  Barry and Good Space High Performance Builders partial finished house.  Although the project does not have operating air condition and it was 100 degrees outside, visitors immediately noticed how well insulated the home is, as the internal temperature was 75 degrees.  The design and building team were on hand to answer questions and show off the systems.   Similarly on the coast architect Bronwyn Barry had an additional project under construction with Carmel Building & Design.  The house in Pebble Beach has many of the same features but demonstrated the applicability of Passive House to a wide array of climates.

In southern CA participants were treated to more in depth discussion of the projects.  For these more urban sites the focus was on smaller buildings (Accessory Dwelling Units) and added housing density.  In Orange Jason Scheurer of Best Techs Construction was not only on hand to answer questions about his ADU under construction but also demonstrated a blower door test to illustrate the importance of verification in the construction process.  The project in Los Angeles by Architect and Certified Passive House Designer Christian Kienapfel (PARAVANT Architects) drew 30 visitors to see a creative solution to adding a second house and an ADU on a single property that resulted from a lot split per CA SB9 state law.  Christian delivered a PowerPoint lecture that covered the international context and organizational structure of Passive House. He provided a basic introduction, explaining why Passive Houses are designed worldwide, their benefits, and how they work (5 Principles).  After the presentation, a lively question-and-answer session took place with the 30 visitors. Although the all-electric building is still under construction, it already showcases all the critical Passive House components, including climate-appropriate insulation, a continuous fresh-air ventilation system (HRV), airtightness, high-performance windows and doors, and a thermal bridge-free design.  Keep your eyes out as Christian is intending to have a job-site tour to see the completed buildings.

The number of attendees during this summer’s Open House days illustrates the grow interest in Passive House.  If that is not convincing at the Morongo Valley house in Southern CA by Trent Laughton of Not Not Architecture had attendees even from Kingman AZ.   If you missed this opportunity mark your calendar as there will be another Passive House Open House in November.