Category Archives: BUILDING A PASSIVE HOUSE

Six Passive Projects

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What’s going on in Columbia County? Six very different building projects are applying the world’s highest energy standard under the care of BarlisWedlick Architects in a rural upstate New York community where kids raised on apple orchards and dairy farms attend schools with names like Ichabod Crane. BarlisWedlick presented the six projects at an event organized by New York Passive House April 17th at the Center for Architecture in Manhattan.

Who’s behind this hotbed of Passive House activity? Visionaries who invested in a spec house/research project, the head of a nonprofit organization providing low-income housing, the owner of a private company seeking healthy office space, the Pastor of a church to be sited north of Kinderhook, homeowners midway into transforming a 150-year old barn, and homeowners on the verge of Passive House certification (that’s us). Each one of the projects was represented in person – including ours, because Susan took the day off while Chris remained on Daddy Duty and painted the kitchen cabinets. It was a chance to look beyond our four (R-49) walls to the larger Passive House community. Shared objectives among the projects include energy efficiency, comfort and air quality.

First food with induction cookware

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 Here is a video about how induction works >

Straight from the box, the new induction-safe frying pan is put to the test by Nicholas. It’s April 4th, the day we broke ground one year ago, and he’s thrilled to be the first to use the new pots and pans. Because we have a new induction cooktop, we needed to buy new cookware that is magnetic and has a very flat bottom. Our four old and somewhat lumpy non-magnetic stainless pots had to be replaced. We choose All-Clad Tri-Ply Stainless Steel (without the non-stick coating), hoping they last forever. Less pricey Tramontina Tri-Ply receives rave reviews, and cast iron also works very well.

The smooth and shiny black ceramic cooktop is quite a change from our Viking dual fuel range. Induction cooking uses the transfer of magnetic energy, rather than a flame or electric element, to create a quick and efficient way of cooking. Water boils almost instantly, pots stay mostly cool and temperature is easily controlled. A typical induction cooktop is 84 percent efficient, while a gas range is only 40 percent efficient, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Five Key Elements of a Passive House

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Being a presenter at the 11th Annual New York State Green Building Conference was a “first” for me and I loved it. Chris and I appreciated the high level of interest in our home. Here is a short slide show capturing the take-away learning. Though few in that standing-room only event are likely to build a Passivhaus of their own, these techniques can be widely applied to improve energy efficiency: 1. Architecture / Purposeful design that lets the sun in; 2. Super Insulation; 3. No thermal bridging; 4. Airtight structure; 5. Air exchange with a heat recovery ventilation system. Click here for the SLIDESHOW:  http://photopeach.com/album/13o82mc

Installing kitchen cabinets and appliances

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The cabinets will be painted in place, matching the color of the beams. The island countertop will be fabricated from the same local wormy maple that is on the floors. We’ll repeat the grey tile used elsewhere for the countertop by the induction cooktop and the wall behind it. One missing cabinet above the stove vent is on re-order from Thomasville, which participates in an environmental stewardship program (though our main motivation was finding unfinished cabinets in a rush!).

Bathroom floor and tile

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The grey tiles are stone-like and, according to the store display, eco-friendly. I haven’t done the research to find out why or how they merit their green label. They were on sale and to be discontinued, so we ended up with several free boxes that will soon be used in the kitchen. The big white subway tiles for the children’s shower were in the closeout room and way more economical (and fun) than the smaller size we had intended to use. Chris has done all the tile work himself, a first-time experience with this craft.