This recently completed home in Onancock on the Eastern Shore of Va is a Certified Passive House (click here) to see photos). What makes a home qualify for this certification is that in addition to passive solar orientation of the home, the home is constructed to be virtually air-tight, with high insulation values, thermal-bridge free construction, superior windows and doors, and great care taken at every stage of construction to make the home as energy efficient as possible. An Energy-Star rated home is about 15% more energy efficient than a typical home, but a Passive House is about 85% more energy efficient. The owners of the home expect the heating and cooling costs of their 5,100 sf home will not exceed $400 for the entire year.
As the wind gusted up to 30 mph, making the air on the Middle Branch of Onancock Creek feel much colder than the mid-40s, Caleb and Anne Fowler basked in comfort inside their cozy 5,100-square-foot home.
It’s not often that "cozy" and "5,100 square feet" go together, but when you’re a certified Passive House – with only 25 in the United States and the only one in Virginia – that’s exactly how it feels. (The house is certified by Passive House Institute US.)
More of the story here
You can learn more about passive houses at www.passivehouse.us
The Passive House recently constructed by Mitchell Custom Homes, Inc. was featured in the Home section of the Virginian Pilot Newspaper. As an addition to that feature, the paper produced a 2-minute video (below). David Mitchell is the first speaker on the video, and the homeowners, who were very involved in all phase of the construction weigh in on the project. You can see detailed photos of the construction of the home here.
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