Passive heating / Guides

...Passive House using Larsen trusses on the exterior of the wall (see video) , that will then be filled with dense-packed cellulose insulation . Using Larsen trusses with dense pack cellulose insulation for a Passive House To go back to thermal bridges – wood does act as a thermal bridge, but not nearly as much a...

...heating. Heat Recovery Ventilators (HRVs) are an essential component of any air-sealed high performance home, bringing in fresh air and removing moisture. An HRV uses the heat in stale exhaust air to warm incoming fresh air. Until now, this has meant a centralized heat transfer core and a network of ducts feeding and...

...Passive House and Zero Net Energy , though the trend was led by improving building efficiency in homes once constructed – better insulation , better air-tightness , more efficient heating , better internal air quality … which is a step in the right direction, but far from the whole solution to better buildings and home...

...passive solar heat gain meant the headers we needed were massive, making these walls absolutely un-liftable by mere humans, so we enlisted the help of a boom truck to get them standing. Kott lumber also engineered the walls, so it was quite handy to have that done by the same company that would provide the necessary ...

...heating planet. The state’s temperatures are rising at twice the global average rate, with spring temperatures averaging about two to five degrees warmer than those of half a century ago. Fact: One of the more visible changes in the state is the retreat of ice on the Bering and Chukchi Seas, which this year disappear...

All homes need ventilation, whether natural or mechanical with an ERV or HRV system. Buildings and houses are no longer constructed leaking heat and moist air the way they used to be; we now build them as airtight as we can, especially Passive House or LEED certified homes. This makes mechanical ventilation essential ...

...heating. Growing season: There is no heating system, so its use is currently limited to the summer months, from the first week of June to as late as mid-October. But the couple would like to add a heat source of some kind to extend the functional use to three seasons. Type of crop & yield: Mostly tomatoes, but ...

...passive solar shading, and super insulation. Other features have been around for a long time, but are not that common on a confined city lot, such as geothermal heating and cooling. There are major elements that are reclaimed such as the exterior brick and structural timbers. Numerous locally sourced materials are in...

...heating, and certainly better building envelopes. If you are custom building a new home, your best chance for a comfortable and efficient final product would come by employing a designer who leans towards high-performance (experience with Passive House practices is a bonus), and selecting a general contractor who won...

The first thought of home lighting design should be the orientation of windows for quality of life, but also passive solar heat gain. Not only does the sun offer free heat, but free light as well. Natural and certain types of artificial lighting can reduce the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). Studie...

...passively through placing thermal mass in the path of the sun to capture the day's heat, which is later released as night falls. There's no rocket science here; that simply means he has a polished concrete floor and brick walls where the sun hits. The more complicated aspect of his heating strategy involves an air-to...