First Passive House Townhouse
With a strong ecological commitment, Ella and Randy chose PDX Living, LLC to fulfill their dream of building a contemporary urban dwelling with the goal of reaching site net-zero energy use. This goal will be achieved through Passivhaus design to minimize energy use and a photovoltaic system that provides the remainder necessary.
– Specs:
- 2- unit townhouse project
- Each unit 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,510 square feet (plus workshop)
- Site net-zero energy: 4.7 kW photovoltaic system per unit provides 100% of anticipated energy use
- Designed and built to Passive House standards
- Heat pump heating/cooling and water heating
- Rainwater collection with a 1,500 gallon cistern providing irrigation for the fruit and vegetable garden
- Monitoring of energy use, temperatures, and indoor air quality through a partnership with Portland State University’s Green Building Research Lab
– Completed: January 2012
– Architect: Robert Hawthorne
– Contractor: PDX Living, LLC
Performance
- 4.7 kW PV system
- Passive House Performance:
- Specific heating demand: 3.75 kBTU/(ft^2yr)
- Airtightness as tested: 0.21 ACH50
- Total PE Value: 33.1 kBTU/(ft^2yr)