Here we share some observations about and snapshots of the Passive House we had built in Oakland County, Michigan. All photographs were taken by us unless otherwise noted.

Today we broke ground for our new home. The building site is that of a 19th century farm house that burned down in the 1950s. The foundations of the old stone barn and silo will become a garden wall. We will do some farming on the property and will attempt to restore other parts of the property to its presettlement condition.

G • O Logic designed a 21st century farmhouse for us that targets the strict Passive House standard. Energy Wise Homes will construct the home using techniques that conform to this standard.

A Passive House is an intricate balancing act of passive solar energy gain and storage with minimal thermal bridging. To reduce energy losses, the home will be heavily insulated with a thick, air-tight building envelope and triple-glazed windows. An air exchanger/energy recovery ventilator keeps rooms at a constant temperature and humidity with fresh air flow throughout.

In order for the building to meet the Passive House standard, blower door tests will be conducted at various construction milestones to assure minimal air leakage. We will select appliances that use the least amount of energy possible; in particular, tier 3 Energy Star ratings assist with this research. Building a Passive House is an active process as we have to think about our long-term energy consumption as well as our impact on the environment.

At some point we will have an open house so that people who are interested in this type of building can see the home under construction.