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.

When we decided we wanted to move out to our property to live in a more rural area, we began considering what type of home to build. We knew we wanted an energy-efficient home constructed with environmentally sustainable materials. We read about homes that were solar powered with photovoltaic panels, LEED certified, net-zero, off-the-grid and passively heated with sunlight. We set out to educate ourselves about these options.

During the winter holiday of 2010, we stayed at LogHaven, an off-the-grid B&B near West Branch, Michigan. The beautiful log home here is augmented with a wind turbine, solar panels and large capacity batteries for energy storage. The proprietors explained how they came to live off-the-grid and the decisions they made in the process. They recommended that we subscribe to Home Power Magazine, an indispensable resource for projects of this type. It was in a letter to the editor of this magazine that we first became acquainted with Christina Snyder, a Michigan-based architect with a strong commitment to the Passive House movement. Days after we spoke with her on the phone, she presented a very compelling and informative session at a Reskilling Institute event near Ann Arbor. The enthusiasm we developed during that presentation has not diminished. Christina introduced us to Michael Klinger, a certified Passive House builder. Michael in turn put us in touch with Matthew O’Malia, Principal of G • O Logic, a Maine-based firm that designs and builds cold climate Passive Houses.

We like features of all green building techniques, but it is the integrated approach used in the Passive House standard that most appeals to each of our science backgrounds. The standard requires energy analysis at the planning stage and tests throughout construction to assure compliant performance. We gravitated to the concept of the Passive House for reasons of low energy input, comfortable living and sustainable building practices. Passive Houses maintain a relatively constant temperature and humidity and desirable turnover of fresh air. We also like how the standard requires one to examine sustainable lifestyles in addition to the building process.