Passive Housing. Is it the future in New Construction?

We can all appreciate that energy production, as was well intended it may seem, can have unintended consequences. We remain a continent that demands products and services that are the direct result of energy infrastructure that, at often times, cross our ever increasing awareness of our own personal believes of what we perceive as harmful to our planet.

Ultra-low energy buildings are becoming more the standard in today’s designs. Materials that can be effectively traced and verified that attribute to a lower carbon footprint seem to be making headway in construction standards which in turn has transformed how materials are being utilized throughout the construction process.

Passive Housing as per its definition is build around the principles of utilizing less energy than conventional buildings. From the construction materials used to erect its structure to the ongoing energies required to sustain the building with the end result of reducing the building’s ecological footprint.

Passive House projects are increasingly being designed and built in new construction across North America as this revolutionary building standard changes construction practice worldwide.  In 2010 the Canadian Passive House Institute was created to help train and educate builders, architects, engineers, tradespeople, designers, planners and homeowners the design and construction principles of passive housing.

The Passive House concept has been proven to work in real life. Passive House dwellings have been monitored with respect to air quality, thermal comfort, energy consumption and construction as well as operating costs. The results show that the concept fully lives up to its promises. Expect to see an increasing number of these projects being designed and built in the near future.