Passive House Energy Savings
If you’re dreaming of a home that’s the ultimate in energy efficiency, take a look at the Passive House standard.
By Ed Welch
Stuart Rue and Sarah Evans’ Passive House in Salem, Ore., features high-performance windows and doors, more insulation and a more extensive ventilation system. Below is a breakdown of the home’s estimated heating savings. Learn more about this building technique in Serious Energy Savings With Passive House Design.
|Total square feet
||$159 per sq. ft.
|Specific space heat demand
||4.08 kBTU per sq. ft./year
|Level of insulation
||0.105 and 0.178
|Total energy consumption
||22.8 kBTU per sq. ft./year
|Estimated savings per year in heating bills alone!
||More than $800
Estimated Annual Heating Savings
Heating Energy Used Per Year
Estimated Cost of Winter Heating
Note that heating savings can be expected to increase each year with inflation and rising energy prices.
1 = Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2005 (most recent)
2 = EIA, 2011 (any fuel)
3 = Assumes electric heat at 7 cents/kwh