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Passive House and High Performance Housing: a Report to the UMORE Park Management Team

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Passive House and High Performance Housing: a Report to the UMORE Park Management Team Passive House and High Performance Housing: A Report to the UMORE Park Management Team Submitted by John Carmody Dan Handeen Center for Sustainable Building Research College of Design University of Minnesota Mar. 8, 2012 Passive House and High-Performance Housing Contents 1 Introduction 3 Part 1: The Passive House Concept 3 What is a Passive House? 4 History 4 Origin of Performance Requirements 6 Critiques of the PassiveHouse Software 7 Passive House Certification Strategies in Minnesota 11 Advantages of Passive House 12 Challenges to Building Passive Houses in Minnesota 19 Part 2: Results and Conclusions 19 Results 24 Life Cycle Cost Comparison 34 Conclusions 37 Part 3: Building Survey and Case Studies 38 Certified Passive Houses 38 Waldsee BioHaus 38 The NewenHouse Prototype I 39 Konkol Residence 39 Isabella EcoHouse 40 Non-Certified Passive Houses 40 Bagley Classroom 40 Skyline House 41 Esko Farmhouse 41 Synergy, TE Studio 42 The Holm Retreat 42 The Erickson Home 43 High Performance Houses 43 The Walker House 43 Stemwell House 44 Case Study I: Konkol Residence (TE Studio) 46 Case Study II: Synergy high-performance home (TE Studio) 48 Case Study III: NewenHouse Prototype I (Coulson Architect) 50 Case Study IV: Isabella EcoHome Experiment Station (Compass Rose) 52 Web Resource List College of Design Passive House and High-Performance Housing ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are grateful for the opportunity to conduct this study on Passive House and other high perfor- mance housing approaches that might be appropriate in meeting the goals of the University of Minnesota’s UMORE development. We appreciate the direction, support, and feedback of the UMORE Management team including Charles Muscoplat, Carla Carlson, Larry Laukka, Tom LaSalle, Ken Larson, Steven Lott, Julie Boudurtha, Lorri Chapman, and Allie Klynderud. The report has required the assistance of many people in collecting case study information and providing insights into energy efficient construction in Minnesota. We would like to thank: Tim Eian, TE Studio Stephan Tanner, INTEP Philipp Gross, TE Studio Edwin Dehler-Seter, Concordia Language Villages Mike LeBeau, Conservation Technologies Rachel Wagner, Wagner Zaun Architects Carly Coulson, Coulson Architect Sonya Newenhouse, Madison Environmental Group Malini Srivastava, NDSU Nancy Schultz, Compass Rose, Inc. Ray Pruban, Amaris Homes Brad Richardson, Christian Homes Ed VonThoma, Building Knowledge The report was also enhanced by discussions with other building researchers at the University of Minnesota including Pat Huelman, Louise Goldberg, Garrett Mosiman, and Rolf Jacobson. Cover images, clockwise from top left: Isabella EcoHome Research Station, Compass Rose Design; NewenHouse Prototype, Coulson Architect; U of M Duluth Bagley Classroom, Salmela Architects; The Konkol House, TE Studio. College of Design Passive House and High-Performance Housing Introduction Purpose and scope This study grew out of a desire to explore innovative The report consists of three sections. Part 1 provides approaches to meeting the aspirational goals of an overview of the principles and issues inherent the UMORE Park development for a low-energy, to Passive House construction, and investigates low-impact sustainable community. During a study some of the complexities, challenges, and benefits trip of sustainable community design in Europe, of a Passive House approach to construction. The the Passive House concept was introduced to the second part includes the results and conclusions. UMORE management team. This report is intended Part 3 comprises a survey of Passive House build- to further explore the Passive House concept as ings in Minnesota, in addition to some other high- it might be applied to the UMORE development performance buildings for comparison purposes. project in Minnesota. The report also examines This is provided in order to establish a spectrum of examples of advanced energy efficient construction construction types related to energy efficiency and now occurring in Minnesota so that the Passive energy performance. Four case studies are docu- House concept can be put into a larger context of mented in greater depth. high performance housing options. Much of the information in the report is based on interviews and data collection from Passive House and other advanced energy efficient homes on Minnesota. College of Design 1 Passive House and High-Performance Housing 2 College of Design Passive House and High-Performance Housing Part 1: The Passive House Concept The Passive House Certification Criteria What is a Passive House? For a building to be certified as a Passive House, it must meet the following criteria: In its most basic definition, a Passive House (PH) Heating energy consumption ≤ 4.7 kBtu/ft2/yr. is a building for which thermal comfort (ISO Cooling energy consumption ≤ 4.7 kBtu/ft2/yr. 7730) can be achieved solely by post-heating or Primary energy consumption ≤ 38.1 kBtu/ft2/yr. post-cooling the fresh air mass required to achieve Airtightness ≤ .6 ACH@50pa sufficient indoor air quality conditions – without the Also recommended but not required: need for additional recirculation of air. Design heating load ≤ 10 W/m2 Window heat transfer coefficient ≤ U-0.14 In execution, a Passive House is a very well- insulated, virtually air-tight building that is primarily heated by passive solar gain and internal heat 3) The airtightness of the building must be no more sources such as occupants and electrical equipment. than 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 pascals pressure, Energy losses are minimized. Any remaining heat as measured by a blower door test. demand is provided by a very small source. Avoid- ance of heat gain through shading and window The Passive House standards also recommend, but orientation also helps to minimize any cooling load. do not require, the following: 1) A maximum designed heating load for the build- A certified Passive House refers to a building or ing of 10W/m2 (3.4 Btu/hr/ft2).* structure that has met the certification criteria set 2) Windows with a maximum U-value of 0.14. forth by the Passive House Institute (PHI) in Darm- stadt, Germany. Passive House experts and practitioners add multiple 1) The building must use no more than 4.746 kBtu/ aspects of what the Passive House approach implies. ft2 per year for heating or cooling, as calculated Simplicity, durability, low-maintenance, and com- using the Passive House software. fortable are all adjectives used to describe a Passive 2) The building must use no more than 38.1 kBtu/ House building. “Passive House is economically, ft2 per year in primary (source) energy for all energy environmentally, and socially responsible and per- consumed, including heating, cooling, and electric manently feasible. [It provides] quality of life at low loads, as calculated using the Passive House soft- cost and low impact to the planet,” says Tim Eian, a ware. Passive House architect based in Minneapolis. *This is the estimated maximum amount of heat that can safely and effectively be supplied via ventilation air. Heating demands in excess of 10W/m2 will require additional heat sources. College of Design 3 Passive House and High-Performance Housing Origin of Performance Requirements Heating/Cooling Energy The 4.75 kBtu/ft2/yr (15kWh/m2/yr) number is set to be the optimum amount of energy for a German home to be able to heat itself without requiring a typical furnace or heating system. The number is based on analysis of economic data, and results in a roughly 80%-90% reduction in overall energy usage compared to a typical home. Primary Energy A schematic description of Passive House design elements. It was quickly noticed that the heating needs of the building could be met by very inefficient means, such as incandescent light bulbs. This defeated the History underlying point of the heating standard, and did not The Passive House concept originated in Darmstadt, address the greater systemic problems due to electri- Germany under the name PassivHaus. Dr. Wolfgang cal power generation. Through analysis of global Feist, a physics professor, was researching high-per- warming projections and carbon emissions, the Pas- formance homes. Drawing from superinsulation and sivHaus Institut proposed that the optimal amount passive solar design techniques that originated in the of primary energy (that is energy generated off-site) US and Canada, he and his colleagues proposed the consumed by all operations in the building, includ- idea that if the insulation levels were high enough, ing heating, cooling, and electrical processes, should the need for a typical furnace and air distribution system (and its associated cost) could be eliminated. The money that would have been spent on a furnace could instead be put toward greater insulation and airtightness measures, and thus be cost-competitive with conventional construction. This initial theory has been proven over the course of about 30 years by the careful analysis of over 100 European Passive Houses by the PassivHaus Institut or PHI. The first PassivHaus. Constructed near Darmstadt, Germany in 1991. 4 College of Design Passive House and High-Performance Housing be less than 120 kWh/m2 (31.8 kBtu/ft2) per year, as sure performance in relation to a reference building. calculated using the Passive House software. This figure is based on a Central European energy Calculation and Software mix. Because of inefficiencies in heat production To aid in the design of such a high-performance and electrical distribution, it requires roughly
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