PASSIVE HOUSE GUIDE
A diagram of Gallatin Passive House, a 3,500-square-foot net-zero-energy home connected to a restored 18th-century barn designed and built by North River Design Build of Stone Ridge. Details on page 4
The passive house construction standard is the most rigorous, energy-efficient set of performance-based building technologies currently available. And interest in these resilient, healthy, comfortable, and ecofriendly homes is rising. The Passive House concept—which can reduce heating and cooling energy consumption of buildings by up to 90 percent—represents today’s most compelling option for counteracting climate change in the built environment. Upstate House’s Passive House Guide highlights the innovations of Passive House technology, pairing regional examples of passive house construction and local experts with leading-edge architecture and building techniques.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ▶
AN INTRODUCTION TO PASSIVE HOUSE 2
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PASSIVE HOUSE PRINCIPLES 3
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BENEFITS OF PASSIVE HOUSE 5
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INCENTIVES FOR PASSIVE HOUSE 6
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NEW BUILD FOX HALL IN ANCRAM 8
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RETROFIT NORTH STREET 12
PASSIVE HOUSE GUIDE
The duplex home on Main Street in Valatie is a certified Passive House and a collaborative effort between many Passive House professionals in the Hudson Valley. Orchestrated by Columbia County Habitat for Humanity, the list of volunteers includes BarlisWedlick Architects, RAPP Construction Management, the Levy Partnership, Proctor O’Leary Engineers, and Northeast Projects.
Pushing the (Building) Envelope A Passive House Primer BY ELISSAVETA M. BRANDON
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assive House is one of the most stringent building standards for energy efficiency in the world. Defined by an air-tight envelope, continuous insulation, and triple-pane windows that reduce, or eliminate, the need for heating and cooling, the passive house standard surpasses other standards like LEED or Energy Star in its fight for energy efficiency. Per the International Passive House Association, a passive house uses 90 percent less energy for heating and cooling than other code-compliant buildings in the same climate. Combined with balanced ventilation, it provides a comfortable indoor space even in extreme weather. As a result, a Passive House allows for drastic energy savings. It is also an opportunity to end our dependence on fossil fuels and reduce our carbon footprint; in addition, it allows us to electrify our buildings which are more compatible with renewable energy—this is the decarbonized energy grid. As for the name: It uses little to no energy, therefore it is passive. There are two narratives retracing the story of the passive house. Some say it was invented in the United States, others say it started in Germany. Depending on how you approach it, both are right. In 1976, a group at the University of Illinois developed a design called the “Lo-Cal” house—a play on low calorie, or low energy. Designed
to achieve an uninterrupted, high level of R30 insulation—a measure of resistance to heat that varies from one material to another—the Lo-Cal house reduced heat transfer by adding insulation between two adjacent stud walls. This was the start of the “superinsulated” house defined by high insulation levels all around the building envelope. A year later, the Saskatchewan Conservation House was born, this time with R40 walls, an R60 roof, triple pane windows, and an airtight envelope. Across the Atlantic and in the late `80s, German physicist Wolfgang Feist took those ideas and created the Passivhaus program. Dr. Feist set out to standardize the practices by turning to practical issues of heating systems, heat distribution, windows, roofs and ventilation systems, all which were quantified to form a clear set of targets with little room for ambiguity. In 1991, the first such Passive House—a multifamily house where Dr. Feist lived with his family— opened in Darmstadt Kranichstein, Germany. Since then, Passive Houses have emerged all over the world. In 2003, the Smith House—in Urbana, Illinois’s cold and humid climate—became the first passive house in the United States, courtesy of architect Katrin Klingenberg, who went on to create the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) in 2007.
A separate entity from the Passivhaus Institute in Germany, PHIUS—a nonprofit organization— is now the leading passive building standard institute in North America. Its PHIUS+ Certification Program is the only passive building certification that combines a thorough passive house design verification protocol with a stringent Quality Assurance/Quality Control program. In other words, it is a metric that ensures the quality of a building’s energy savings. After a slow start, Passive Houses have grown exponentially over the past few years. In 2010, in the Hudson Valley, Hudson Passive Project became the first passive house to be certified in New York State, to a design by BarlisWedlick Architects in partnership with the Levy Partnership and NYSERDA. Since then, a number of sustainabilitydriven architects, developers, and builders have been leading the way in green building with a plethora of passive houses along the valley. Stephanie Bassler and Peter Reynolds cofounded North River Architects in late 2009. Coming up from New York City, Bassler had moved upstate three years prior, committed to improving her skillset in energy design. Bassler became a certified Passive House consultant over the course of the firm’s first foray into passive houses: the Women’s Leadership Center at the Rhinebeck’s Continued on page 4
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PASSIVE HOUSE GUIDE
Principles of Passive House The Passive House energy and building standard encompasses features which lead to durable, comfortable, low-energy use buildings. It is applicable to residences, apartments, and commercial buildings of all types.
Illustration by Hammerandhand.com
SUPER-INSULATED BUILDING ENVELOPE
Continuous insulation around the entire building reduces energy demands and increases comfort. The amount of insulation is climateand-building-specific and can be achieved with many different materials and wall systems. It must be free from significant thermal bridging which is a highly conductive “path” for heat transfer in a detail of a building such as the edge of the foundation slab. Because of the increased ability to retain heat through the building envelope (or block it in warm weather), the size of the heating/cooling system is significantly simplified and reduced.
BALANCED VENTILATION
Depending on the project, the site conditions and the specific design goals, a wide range of window types and performance ranges can be used to achieve Passive House performance and certification. For single-family residential homes in the Hudson Valley (climate zones 4a, 5a, and 6a). Triple-pane windows are usually necessary. In addition to better insulated glass, Passive House-approved windows reduce drafts through improved air-tightness when pulled closed.
Most homes do not have a system for delivering fresh air for healthy living. We have relied on air leaks at gaps that allow outdoor air to move in or out, such as leaky windows and doors, recessed lights and other openings, and where the house meets the foundation. These unintentional gaps also allow moisture movement, are a pathway for bugs and rodents, and introduce dust. Fans have been used in bathrooms and in kitchen exhaust hoods, but in order for air to be removed, there must be a source of air to replace it, called make-up air. A large kitchen exhaust hood may even require opening a window to operate properly. Make-up air is at ambient temperature, generally colder or hotter than we desire. Instead, passive buildings use heat recovery ventilation systems (HRV), or, more commonly, energy recovery ventilation (ERV). In an ERV, exhaust air is replaced with outside air, but the heat and moisture of the air leaving the building pre-conditions the incoming air. The result is fresh indoor air with only a minimal energy penalty. The incoming air is filtered, so if the windows stay closed the home will be surprisingly dust-free. If you prefer, you can open windows in a Passive House.
AIRTIGHT BUILDING ENVELOPE
SECONDARY PRINCIPLES
HIGH-PERFORMANCE WINDOWS
The exterior of a building is referred to as the building “envelope.” The building envelope is extremely airtight, preventing infiltration of outside air and loss of conditioned air. A small change in the air-tightness of a building makes a big difference and it’s accounted for from the beginning of a project. Each detail is designed to maintain the airtight boundary continuously around the entire building and a blower-door test (a calibrated fan that measures air-tightness) verifies it at the end. While the current building code already requires air-tightness verification, the Passive House standard is far more stringent.
Principles like “solar management” and “thermal storage” might come up on an internet search about Passive House. These are concepts that are essential to passive solar design, which appears similar to Passive House designbut is distinctly different. While these two lowenergy building systems use building energy balance equations to reduce overall electrical consumption, Passive Solar relies heavily on maximizing solar gain often with attached greenhouses and often storing heat with massive quantities of stone or water. While these methods can be applied to maximize the energy performance of a Passive House, they are not essential properties. A collaboration between PASSIVE HOUSE ALLIANCE and upstate HOUSE | SPRING 2021 •
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PASSIVE HOUSE GUIDE
Omega Institute. In 2017, the firm also completed its first residential Passive House in Accord—a simple yet flexible structure inspired by the region’s quintessential barn architecture. For Bassler, the incentive for individuals to get onboard with the Passive House standard is lower in the US because energy is cheaper here than in Europe. For the most part, systems like tripleglazed windows—a Passive House staple—remain imported, and electric heat pumps have only been adopted significantly in the last five or six years. “Our aim in propagating this method and teaching this construction method is also about broadening the market,” she says. Bassler’s efforts to make Passive Houses more accessible come after decades of it being associated with single-family homes and upscale living. But the Passive House standard isn’t limited to homes. It isn’t limited to new buildings, either. Any building can be retrofitted to Passive House standards, regardless of form, scale, or even architectural style. In June last year, a multifamily building, designated to low-income residents, opened its doors in the City of Newburgh. Led by Michael Robinson of Urban Myth Construction, with John Loercher of Northeast Projects, the historic townhouse on North Miller Street was retrofitted to Passive House standards, with 800-square-foot apartments designed to keep utility costs close to zero year-round. Robinson was inspired by Tim McDonald, an architect and builder known for his work with 4
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multi-family passive houses in Philadelphia. “People think Passive House is for the wealthy, but by the same token, it’s one of those things that amortizes into nothing,” he says. Robinson is now working on a single-family house in Cape Cod. He’s building it to Passive House standards, but it won’t be certified. “A lot of people don’t certify because it costs in the vicinity of $10,000 after all is said and done,” he says, though the cost of certification varies on location and availability of incentives. For a house to be certified, it needs to go through a number of rigorous tests to ensure the Passive House metrics have been met—like a blower test that measures air leakage in the building shell, which must be virtually airtight. “You know the house works,” he says. “It’s been put through the modeling rigors that a home should be put through.” The Passive House standard is growing, and with it, a network of green energy consultants is growing. Michelle Tinner is one of them. A senior project manager at Sustainable Comfort and president of the Passive House Alliance Hudson Valley chapter, her mission is to help Passive House enter mainstream building standards. “The level of interest from project teams to pursue Passive House has grown exponentially over the last two to three years,” says Tinner, for whom drivers for adoption abound. “Some developers are mission driven,” she says. “We need to clean the grid and get away from fossil fuels. Passive House provides a logical solution by reducing the overall energy demand.”
Gallatin Passive House demonstrates essential features of a Passive House: airtight construction, continuous insulation, and triple-pane windows and exterior doors. The fresh air ventilation system, a required feature of Passive House design, uses porch roofs to conceal intake and exhaust. Cantilever design elements and attached porches provide shading for control of solar gain. The design team sought to create innovative building forms and sheltered outdoor living spaces, and was able to do so with energy-efficient Passive House detailing.
For the general consumer, some challenges— mostly around construction costs—remain. Per PHIUS, a passive house typically costs about 5 to 10 percent more than a conventional home, with larger, multi-family buildings only costing up to three percent more than a building built to an Energy Star baseline. Even so, more and more manufacturers are starting to produce tripleglazed windows in the US, and building materials are slowly getting cheaper. “Yes, it can cost more, but there’s a perception shift needed to think about lifetime cost,” she says. In the certified CreekView Apartment Development—an affordable housing community that opened in 2019, in the Finger Lakes city of Canandaigua—most units are all-electric and the buildings are effectively air-tight, saving on heating and cooling costs. Passive House, then, is emerging as a hopeful tool for energy restorative justice. It can give people energy equity and bring lowincome populations, like those in CreekView and like the North Miller residents in Newburgh, out of energy poverty. Ultimately, a Passive House is about an extremely comfortable lived experience. As Robinson describes it: “It’s a dwelling that even without power, or the assistance of generated electricity, can sustain itself. But more to the point, the way people should be talking about Passive House, is it’s the most comfortable and potentially the most affordable house that you will ever live in.”
PASSIVE HOUSE GUIDE
The Woodstock Passive House, constructed by Greenspring Building Systems and certified in 2016, was the second Passive House in the US to be built with autoclaved aerated concrete, a lightweight, highly insulating, fire-resistant, insect-resistant, mold-resistant building material. Photo by Nicholas Doyle
Benefits of Passive House Construction LONG-TERM COST SAVINGS
About Passive House Alliance– Hudson Valley Passive House Alliance–Hudson Valley (PHAHV) is the exclusive local chapter of the nonprofit Passive House Alliance US (PHAUS) in the Northeast region. It provides a robust membership-based network with members throughout North America and provides training, resources, marketing, and advocacy support to its members throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New England. The climate-specific Passive House standard developed and refined by the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) is proven to cost-optimize Passive House performance in all seven climate zones found throughout the United States. Our mission is to contribute positively to a lowcarbon future through education, training and advocacy for the Passive House standard and make it the mainstream standard of building in the Hudson Valley and beyond. We are inclusive of all professionals engaged in the design, construction, and testing of high-performance buildings and we value the contributions of each individual. We create a culture of collaboration and sharing throughout our membership base and collectively contribute to the advancement of the Passive House building methods through our work. Local Hudson Valley Passive House-certified consultants, builders, and verifiers can be located on our website: Pha-hv.org
Even as building energy codes require higher insulation levels and greater airtightness, the Passive House standard provides a 40 percent to 90 percent reduction in energy consumption when compared to a code-built home. This directly translates into smaller mechanical equipment (cost savings) and much smaller energy bills, if any at all. Passive House paired with renewables is a clear path to net-zero energy or net positive, where excess electricity can be sold back to the power grid.
REDUCED CARBON EMISSIONS
Less energy use translates directly to less carbon emitted into the earth’s atmosphere. According to the AIA Architecture 2030 plan, the building sector accounts for roughly 40 percent of our total global carbon emissions. Irreparable climate disaster is in our not-so-distant future if we cannot put a cap on carbon emissions. Passive House is the best way to achieve those goals.
INCREASED DURABILITY
In the old way of building, we created a leaky building envelope and then oversized our heating equipment. When the building envelope is sealed and superinsulated the movement of water vapor can no longer have a direct avenue to dry out and can cause serious durability issues. Passive House is based on good building science and all assemblies, windows and mechanical systems are verified to be free from condensation risk.
IMPROVED THERMAL COMFORT
Thermal comfort is determined by the surface temperature of a surface. If it is within seven degrees of the living area, most people will find that to be very comfortable. Every interior surface in a Passive House is verified to fall within this comfort criteria— even the glass of the windows. This results in more comfortable usable floor area and more even temperature distribution throughout the entire building. At the same time, humidity levels remain within a comfortable range.
SUPERIOR INDOOR AIR QUALITY
A requirement for Passive House certification is a balanced ventilation system. These systems, known as HRVs or ERVs (heat/energy recovery ventilators) bring fresh air in from the outside, move it throughout the house, and then expel the stale air to the outside. In the process, the air is filtered with a MERV 13 filter (minimum requirement) which has proven to drastically reduce allergens and other particulates from the air we breathe. With the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS program as a prerequisite for Passive House certification, the topmost air quality is guaranteed through material selection (VOC control), radon mitigation, and mold control. Occupants of Passive Houses often experience less respiratory issues including allergies and asthma.
THE PATH TO NET ZERO
A prerequisite for Passive House certification is the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home program. Whether renewable energy is immediately installed on the project or not, it is engineered for the smallest energy demand possible so that net-zero energy consumption can easily be achieved.
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Photo by: Nils Schlebusch
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North Miller Passive Multi-family in Newburgh is a NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence award winner and as such received incentives to increase it’s energy performance to the Passive House standard. In addition, it received NYSERDA funding through the Low-Rise New Construction Program.
Passive House Incentives
To assist homeowners and builders in their transitions to Certified Passive House buildings, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) offers a range of incentivebased programs. In support of Governor Cuomo’s climate and clean energy goals, NYSERDA provides incentives for the construction of several levels of highly efficient and carbon-neutral buildings, including those which assist in the adoption of Passive House standards. For example, as part of NYSERDA’s Buildings of Excellence Design competition, which recognizes and awards the design, construction, and operation of very low-carbon and carbon-neutral multifamily buildings, 18 of the 28 projects awarded in Round 1 have committed to achieving passive house certification. (For a full list of the Buildings of Excellence Round 1 winners, including project renderings and technical details, visit Nyserda.ny.gov.) NYSERDA’s ongoing related incentive programs include its Bulk Energy Storage Incentive Program, which provides financial support for new energy storage systems over five megawatts of power measured in alternating current that provide wholesale market energy, ancillary services, and/or capacity services. The Charge Ready NY program provides $4,000 per installed electric vehicle (EV) charging port to applicants who purchase and install qualified Level 2 EV charging equipment at New York State locations. The New Construction—Housing program aims to accelerate the design, development, and construction of reduced or zero-carbonemitting buildings, reducing their energy consumption and per capita carbon emissions while increasing passive survivability and climate change resilience. It offers financial incentives and technical support for new construction or gut rehabilitation of residential and mixed-use buildings. For additional information on these and other newly added programs, visit Nyserda.ny.gov. New York State’s Homes and Community Renewal wing also recognizes the value of Passive House levels of performance, and in certain circumstances awards additional consideration in some of their award solicitations. Specifics and further information can be found at Cr.ny.gov.
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PASSIVE HOUSE GUIDE
Fertile Ground
A Historic Barn Serves as the Seed of a Columbia County Passive House BY PETER AARON
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ordering Massachusetts is the Columbia County town of Ancram, which lies just 18 minutes southeast of the county seat of Hudson. Although the rural area’s most famous product is the massive chain its iron works forged to blockade the British fleet on the Hudson River during the Revolutionary War, it was agriculture that was Ancram’s main source of commerce for centuries. Its early immigrant residents were mostly Scottish farmers who arrived in the 1740s to grow other crops; dairy farming arose with the advent of the railroad, which allowed fresh milk to go to New York and other markets. Many of the historic barns that embody the county’s agricultural traditions can still be seen dotting its landscape. And one of them, built in the mid-19th century and saved from collapse, became the outbuilding of—and architectural inspiration for—Fox Hall, a gorgeous Passive House built by the award-winning firm of BarlisWedlick. “[The barn] was brought in from a nearby farm,” says BarlisWedlick’s cofounder and principal architect, Alan Barlis, about the antiquated edifice, which now serves as a garage and guest house with a Passive-designed studio apartment. “About 15 to 20 percent of it had to be replaced due to its age, but it was just the right size and shape for the conversion, and it has such great character.” Now wrapped in warm-sunlight-conducting black siding, the ancillary structure features a loft with a 8
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fireman’s pole leading to the downstairs apartment, a woodburning stove, and a rooftop photovoltaic array that provides power for the property. “Being able to reuse an existing building really reduces your carbon footprint,” explains Barlis. “Doing a passive retrofit with the barn was a little more complicated than usual [for older buildings], because it’s small [650 square feet], and smaller buildings don’t leave you much room for a passivecertified envelope. But this one had just enough space inside for us to build this perfect, air-tight little box for the apartment. The client lived there while the main house was being built.” The barn has a Tesla charging station, which was actually how Fox Hall came to be. “The client was living and working in New York and wanted a getaway in Columbia County,” Barlis recalls. “He came to us asking if we could just build him a cabin where he could stay and charge his Tesla on weekends. He found the property and things just started happening from there.” Although the outbuilding was finished in 2012, it would be a bit before the main house was completed. “It took some time to understand the land, how the house would be situated to align with the views and the rest of the geography,” says Barlis. “[The client] wanted a quiet, contemplative, wonderful place where he and his family and friends could stay, and where they could host parties and small musical events and film screenings. But he also really cared
Constructed from structural insulated panels (SIPs) from Vermont Timber Frames and clad in charred cedar siding, the main house also features roof panels from Agway Metals. Opposite, clockwise from top: In the bedroom, a hand-woven macrame panel (done by Sally England) becomes the headboard, and simple bedding maintains a minimalist feel. The builtin wood storage wall is painted Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore in a matte finish, which was used on millwork throughout the house. Isaac brass sconces by Schoolhouse Electric illuminate the room alongside a floor lamp from Crate & Barrel. The custom-made rocker is by Onefortythree in Las Vegas. The barn is designed to be a place for gathering. In the studio apartment on the ground floor, Intus windows are oriented to maximize solar gain. The upper-level windows peppering the barn’s façade are set off by a lipstick red hue. Inside the barn, a wood burning stove heats the space. Forty-eight solar panels on the barn’s roof collect and store electricity in a battery back-up panel. The living, dining, and bedroom areas feature an open plan but can be separated by a rising steel wall that emerges from the bedroom floor via the turn of a crank. A mix of vintage and reproduction furniture, such as the dining table and Danish modern chairs and a shaker-style bench by Ilse Crawford for De La Espada, grace the space.
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The main bathroom features a 68-inch-long Signature Hardware cast-iron tub cradled by a base of the same Eastern white pine used for the timbers. Underfoot are Cube concrete floor tiles from Mosaic House and the subway tiles are Daltile’s Rittenhouse Squares in a running bond pattern. The stone details are made of honed Montclair Danby marble. The Twist stool is from Classic Country.
A kitchen island with a concrete surface from Get Real Surfaces is illuminated by a custom Stickbulb LED lamp above. The timber beams overhead are finished with LifeTime Wood Treatment, a stain made from plant extracts and minerals.
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about being as off-the-grid as possible, about having net-zero solar and really healthy interior air quality. That meant we could really push the design to focus on it being as passive as possible.” Construction on the main site began in 2014 and took approximately one year. But it was certainly worth the wait. The 1,800-square-foot, Passive House-certified home is a stunning, sun-filled merger of clean contemporary and timelessly rustic design. Built partially into the earth for added insulation, constructed using structural insulated Vermont timber frame panels, and clad in traditional Japanese shou sugi ban charred cedar, Fox Hall aesthetically references the adjacent barn. Its airy interior features built-in storage and an open-plan living room/bedroom space that can be divided by a hand-cranked wall that rises from within the master suite’s elevated platform. A state-of-the-art PowerWise energy monitoring system allows BarlisWedlick to continuously track and compile analysis stats that can be used to adjust operations for optimally efficient energy usage and climate control. The green-roofed garage portion, covered in insulating native plantings, echoes the sod houses of frontier farmers and more recent Earthship designs, while the natural swimming pool—the first in New York State—utilizes water gardens for all of its necessary filtration. Perhaps the most eye-catching section of the design, though, is the three-story, cedar-framed tower that’s connected to the main house via a wooden foot bridge. In addition to a sauna, the tower boasts a secondlevel seating and dining area and third level with a swing. “It’s a really resilient, long-lasting house,” says Barlis about Fox Hall. “Fifty or a hundred years from now, I feel, people will still appreciate the craft and timeless methods of living with the land used to build it.”
Photo by Brad Dickson
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PASSIVE HOUSE GUIDE
Built Back Better
A Cold Spring Home Gets a Retrofit Rebirth BY PETER AARON PHOTOS BY BRAD DIXON
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t’s very comfortable and highly personal, maybe a little eccentric,” says James Hartford of Cold Spring’s River Architects about North Street House, the local home he and his firm revitalized in 2013 using an innovative passive house retrofit design. “The combination of the house and the land it’s on, which is directly adjacent to both the village and [riverfront] Dockside Park and has incredible views of the nearby mountains, makes it completely one-of-a-kind as a Hudson Valley property. It’s not hidden away in the woods somewhere, like a lot of newer local passive houses are. It’s accessible.” Although North Street House’s close riverside access brought disastrous flooding to the structure when Hurricane Sandy struck in 2012, in phoenixlike fashion that same calamity has also helped to see it reincarnated as a newer, safer, stronger, greener, and all-around better home. “The greenest buildings of all are those that already exist,” says Hartford. “To tear down a building and put the old concrete and other materials into landfill and then
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build an entirely new building on the same site— and use all the energy it takes to do that—takes up far more resources than when you’re able to work with a building that’s already there. Although the client was focused on refurbishing the house when she approached Hartford’s team, going Passive wasn’t part of the original plan. In fact, it wasn’t officially even part of the services that River Architects were offering then. “At that time, nobody in the general public really knew about Passive House design,” Hartford remembers. “But I had just taken Passive House training. And when I explained to her how passive design worked, how it would bring her energy bills down to, essentially, nothing while making the house a far healthier place to live in and reducing its carbon footprint, her only question was ‘Why do it any other way?’” “Besides being severely damaged and needing to be cleaned up—there’d been several feet of water in the ground floor from the hurricane—the house was constructed in the 1970s using inferior architecture,” explains Hartford. “But while
Above: The North Street Passive House marks the entrance to a riverside park, looking directly onto the Hudson River and across to Crow’s Nest and Storm King Mountain. The earthy tones of the yaki sugi wood siding and the patinaed zinc metal roof soften the modern edges of the exterior. Opposite, from top: The raised deck provides great views and privacy from the public park, and steps into the rocky hillside behind for a soft, natural edge. Wood screens from Bali blend in with the charred local hemlock siding. Walnut paneling and floors, and walnut slats that span from floor to floor screen the open tread stairs, giving the house an open, spacious feeling. A mix of antique and Mid-Century lighting, Asian antiques, and an industrial-grade stainless steel kitchen made in the Bowery create an assemblage of contrasts.
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To Retrofit or Not to Retrofit?
The top floor balcony opens up to the view from the upstairs sitting area, creating a private outdoor room that looks out toward West Point, the river, and mountains beyond. The oversized, triple-pane windows are composed of low-iron glass, giving a crystal-clear view.
keeping the original two-by-four frame, we were able to raise the ground floor [essentially a walk-out basement] and insert a 15-inch layer of reclaimed foam insulation into the existing foundation. That helped to eliminate thermal bridges and raised the ceiling height on the ground floor. We also added places to install floodgates to protect it from future storms.” Airtight construction techniques and additional, passive-complaint cellulose insulation and wall-thickening Larsen trusses were installed throughout the house, and high-quality performance windows were added. For the upgrade, Hartford and the client chose highly efficient new HVAC systems: a mini-split heating and cooling system and an ERV (energy recovery ventilation) system, which pushes out stale air while constantly pulling in fresh, filtered air that’s free of dust, pollen, pollutants, and other irritants and allergens. “It’s actually even better air than the air outside the house,” says Hartford. “Pollen is certainly a big issue for a lot of people in the Hudson Valley, and with the new system the difference with that is dramatic.” Dramatic to the eye, though, is the additional floor and new roofline that the rebuild brought to the house, which had been a modest two-story structure. “The original design had a pitched roof, but we were able to add a third floor with a slightly inclined roof.” Atop the new roof, which is covered in dark, selfregenerating natural zinc, is an 8kW solar array that powers the completed PHIUS-certified home and renders it completely energy neutral. “The house essentially has no energy costs other than the basic connection charge from Central Hudson,” Hartford says, stressing that no fossil fuels are required for the home’s operation. “And if the outside utilities ever do kick off, the temperature inside doesn’t really change.” Along with the walnut plywood flooring and other interior details, what contributes to the house’s distinctive look is the rustic, locally harvested hemlock siding, which was treated using the Japanese shou sugi ban charring method. Not only has the client been delighted with her family’s reborn, effortlessly comfortable new home, but River Architects are becoming progressively known as a go-to firm for other area clients who are interested in passive modification of existing properties or new Passive-certified constructions. Hartford mentions the Seminary Hill Cidery’s 6,800-square-foot, two-story cider production facility and tasting room in Callicoon, which recently received its PHIUS certification. “Although the pandemic has of course been difficult on all of us, it’s also affected the attention being paid to passive design in a positive way,” he observes. “The Hudson Valley has been exploding with the demand for new housing, and increasingly people are looking toward Passive technology for their homes.” 14
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Choosing between retrofitting an existing structure with technology and methods that allows it to meet Passive House standards and building an entirely new, Passive House-certified home from the ground up is certainly a major decision. But which one is best for you? “Passive House renovation or construction is a comprehensive process,” says Courtney Moriarta, the director of NYSERDA’s Single-Family Residential team, which works with market-rate single-family home customers. “Significant energy efficiency improvements may be required to achieve passive house levels of performance. But in terms of living in a Passive home, the main advantage is that it’s a very comfortable and healthy environment [when compared to a non-Passive home]. With a Passive House envelope, you don’t have a situation where there are cold walls or leaky windows that make certain rooms colder than others. And with a Passive-certified ventilation system, the air you’re breathing is cleaner [than in a non-Passive home] and really healthy.” Although the construction of an entirely new, designed-frominception, certified Passive House can be the optimal option for those interested in Passive living, that alternative is of course less viable for owners on a budget. Retrofitting an older home, while still a sizeable outlay for many, is usually far less expensive— with other, perhaps more socially impactful, benefits as well. And carbon emission benefits—North Miller Passive Multifamily (retrofit) has 60 percent less embodied carbon than if the same building were built new. According to AIA Architecture 2030, by the year 2035 we’re on track to build 150 billion square feet of new construction and 170 billion square feet will be retrofitted. That’s an important metric to understand if we’re serious about climate change goals. “Generally speaking, it’s more sustainable to retrofit an older home than to build a new one,” says Moriarta. “Seventy percent of the housing stock in New York was built prior to the implementation of energy-efficiency codes, which means there are already many older homes in the state that are leaky and unsealed and can be altered to improve their energy performance and some could meet Passive-certified standards. With a new building, your choice of insulation, windows, heating and cooling systems, and other elements will dictate the design and can be planned to meet Passive House standards.” Thinking of remodeling or aesthetically updating part of your home? Traditional renovations, Moriarta says, often bring with them opportunities for Passive retrofitting. “When you’re remodeling, say, a kitchen or bathroom, often you’ll be opening up areas to get at the plumbing or wiring or removing cabinets or fixtures,” she says. “That makes it easier to go into walls or ceilings to add insulation and bring the envelope up to Passive standards. Oftentimes, additional work is required in older homes, since often there’s asbestos abatement, mold remediation, wiring updates, or structural updates to address, and in older houses it can be challenging to get leakage levels down. Doing the work incrementally, may make it easier to live there during the process versus taking the entire retrofit on at once.” Jeff Eckes of Passive House design/build firm LDR Group advises homeowners who want to use a “one-piece-at-a-time” approach to the upgrading of their home to Passive House standards begin with a certified Passive House consultant from the beginning. “Having a unified plan and design in place to achieve Passive House certification begins with analysis and design by a consultant that’s certified by either PHI or PHIUS. It’s a cost that is well worth the money, even on a tight budget, as it always saves money in the long run.” What resources does Moriarta recommend for those interested in learning more about Passive building and retrofitting? “The Passive House Institute is a great place to start, as is the NYSERDA Energy Audit Program,” she explains. “The audits are free, and the program works with utility partners and contractors to recommend improvements and can assess the potential for a home to adapt to Passive-certified concepts. It’s a really good first step.” Nyserda.ny.gov; Phius.org; PHA-HV.org; Passivehouse.com
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The Architecture of Comfort
For Architect Tapani Talo, Sustainable Spaces Are About Ease of Living
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rchitect Tapani Talo has long had a passion for the comfort and stability that sustainable building standards like Passive House provide. It began in 1973, when he was working as a sound engineer for the Rolling Stones during the OPEC oil embargo that cut off supply to the United Kingdom, where he was living. Without reliable access to oil-based heat and hot water, Talo flew back to his native Finland for Christmas just so he could finally get warm. “It was so dramatic that I had to make that kind of trip to be comfortable,” he says. The following year, when he began studying architecture in London with instructors who were beginning to teach about green building technologies, the impact that sustainable architectural practices could have on daily living came full-circle. “Coming from Finland, where everything was comfortable all the time, and living in the UK and going to school in drafty buildings where I had to keep my coat on just to be in class, it all merged,” he says. “I was lucky to be one of the first students taught ‘green’ right from the start.” In the `80s, Talo moved to the US. There, he
worked with renowned New York City architects Edward Larrabee Barnes and Philip Johnson, and honed his skills as a designer and project manager on both US and international projects. Then, in the early `90s, his work with the firm Arup brought the focus of his practice back to sustainability. Around that time, Talo also began work on a brownstone renovation for the CEO of Colgate Palmolive, who requested that Talo design the roof with an insulation value three times higher than code. “He said he did not want to hear airplanes or other noise, nor air conditioning rumbling through the space 24/7,” Talo says. The priority of a stable living environment instantly brought him back to his education in the UK once again. Since the early 2000s, Talo’s firm, which works primarily in New York City, Westchester, Connecticut, Vermont, and the Hudson Valley, has been creating comfortable, healthy spaces that operate at maximum energy efficiency by incorporating the principles of Passive House design. One of his projects, an 8,000-square-foot house in Connecticut that struggled to maintain
consistent temperatures, now easily stays at an enjoyable 72 degrees with one fireplace thanks to his use of Passive House principles in the renovation. And after he renovated his own home to near-Passive House standards, it too was constantly 72 degrees—even during a winter storm that knocked out power for 10 days, which allowed his late wife, who was battling cancer, to remain at home during her final days. “Both of those houses were simply made sensibly,” Talo says. “They use hardly any air conditioning in the summer and need only minor heating during the winter. They provide the kind of comfort not experienced in the common house in the US today.” Talo’s passion for creating enjoyable spaces through sustainable building practices is one of the reasons why the majority of his clients continue to live in the homes he designed for them. “Before they started the project, many expected they’d stay in their homes for two years,” he says. “They end up loving where they are because my designs are meant to be truly livable and carefully fit each client’s interests and needs.” Taloarchitect.com
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Passive House 101 Pushing the (Building) Envelope
MARCH 25 We’ll be chatting with local experts and builders about principles, benefits, and designs of passive housing, as well as incentives and how to determine if retrofitting your house is the right fit for you.
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PASSIVE HOUSE CERTIFICATION PHA-NY STATEMENT ON CERTIFIED PASSIVE HOUSE PROJECTS
The professional members that make up the Passive House Alliance–Hudson Valley are frequently asked whether certification is necessary. As professionals who are leading the charge for Passive House adoption in the Hudson Valley and beyond, we stand by our statement that certification is the only way to guarantee the highest quality of construction, interior living conditions, durability, and cost-effectiveness that Passive House promises. In addition to the benefit to the owner, the certification of projects builds the database which informs improvements to Passive House standards and demonstrates demand to drive policy at all levels of government in fighting climate change.
CERTIFICATION COSTS
Assuming the building is already designed to the same specifications and quality of construction by a certified Passive House Consultant or Designer, the additional cost to certify a project is marginal. The Passive House Institute charges a squarefoot-based fee that for single-family residential projects rarely exceeds $2,000. A PHIUS rater is also required to provide on-site verification, but can partially pay for itself through NYSERDA construction incentives. All-in, the additional cost for certification adds less than one percent to the project budget, which is a tremendous value when weighed against the potential risks associated with a non-certified project.
QUALITY CONTROL/QUALITY ASSURANCE
The value that Passive House certification offers is affirmation that the right decisions were made and they were implemented in the correct way. High performance homes that are super-insulated and airtight present a much higher risk of moisture-specific problems in a building, which can lead to poor, uncomfortable air quality, ruin materials, and, at worst, undermine the structural system of the building. Computer simulations, climate data, and third-party testing of design and construction drawings alongside rigorous on-site verification provides the confidence that the best decisions were made, and those decisions benefit the homeowner directly.
ADVANCING BUILDING STANDARDS
Building the knowledge base of certified projects benefits society through sharing information and shaping policy to address the most existential challenge to the planet. Passive House certification is an accepted pathway to meet increasingly stringent building codes, as well as simultaneously achieving RESNETapproved quality assurance/quality control, US Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home status, earns EPA Indoor airPLUS label, and includes HERS rating, which is required in an increasing number of communities. Certification of projects builds the database that informs improvements to Passive House standards, and demonstrates demand to drive policy at all levels of government in fighting climate change.
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Understanding the Role of Community Management Companies How to Help Your Co-op, Condo Association, or Homeowner’s Association Thrive
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here are many benefits to being a resident of a co-op, condo association, or homeowner’s association (commonly referred to as an HOA). In addition to a sense of community, residents often have access to shared amenities, such as walking trails, a pool, or a playground; the peace of mind that maintenance and landscaping is taken care of; and the security of being able to call on the community’s board to handle any challenges that might arise. Such resources, however, come with the responsibility and stress of managing them, which can quickly take up board members’ valuable time and energy. That’s why many boards are looking to professional managers and management companies to help them successfully carry out the daily duties and responsibilities of the community that they serve. In the Mid-Hudson Valley, Associa New York, a branch of national community and property management company Associa, provides these services to 30 communities in the region, from existing co-ops, condos, and HOAs to new communities in development. “We work closely with board members to develop the right management program for their community that will meet their specific needs, reduce their operating costs, and provide them with the very best service available,” says Associa New York Branch President Dianne Feinstein. For over 40 years, Associa has been an industry leader in providing secure financial services
“It’s our responsibility to listen, focus on detail, and offer leadership to the communities we manage. Everyone who works at Associa New York lives in the region and has a vested interest in seeing the Hudson Valley thrive.” —Dianne Feinstein
and technological solutions to self-managed communities. For instance, Associa’s community management teams use an all-in-one app, TownSq, to provide a secure place to discuss private issues with board members, communicate with the community, manage requests, and more. Additionally, TownSq provides comprehensive financial reporting, allowing boards to easily manage their budgets, offering greater transparency into their income and expenses, and providing secure payments to the community’s many vendors. Associa also provides regular educational opportunities to help boards stay up to date with the latest trends in community and property management, as well as on-demand building and grounds maintenance, consulting for new developments, and insurance services. The decision to transition from a self-managed community to partnering with a community management company is a serious one. Boards who are interested in making the move can start by asking what services they need help with now and how the partnership can enhance the community in the future. “It’s our responsibility to listen, focus on detail, and offer leadership to the communities we manage,” says Feinstein. “Everyone who works at Associa New York lives in the region and has a vested interest in seeing the Hudson Valley thrive.” Associaonline.com
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A Passion for Passive
Design-Build Firm LDR Group Is Committed to Making Passive House Mainstream
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udson Valley-based builder and renovator Jeff Eckes thought he was close to retiring, but then he discovered Passive House. Last year, after almost 40 years in the construction industry as a carpentry contractor and consultant specializing in high-end millwork, Eckes had settled into a semiretired life as a millwork cost estimator and consultant for a firm in Washington, DC. Then the pandemic hit, and the company he was working with closed. It was a chance encounter with a friend and architect that Eckes had previously worked with that sent him in an entirely new direction. The architect, who was studying for certification as a Certified Passive House Designer, sent Eckes a few online resources about Passive House. “I dove into it headfirst and didn’t come up for air for a week,” he says. Within just a few months, Eckes had repurposed his construction company, LDR Group, and completed coursework to become a Certified Passive House Tradesman (CPHT) with the Passive House Institute. The same architect, now a Certified Passive House Designer, is the principal architect for the firm. Already, LDR Group is collaborating with wellregarded Passive House experts in the Hudson Valley, including Daniel Levy, a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC) and Certified Passive House Builder (CPHB). Levy’s Woodstock Passive House, completed in 2016, differs from most Passive Houses in the US because it was built with an advanced precast, lightweight masonry product called autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC). Together, Eckes and Levy are planning on developing a certified Passive House community in the Hudson Valley. “We want to build something that makes a difference to the quality of life,” Eckes says of his firm. While 18
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“Why would anyone commit to 50 years or more of a substandard future for their home or the people who live there when we have the knowledge and materials to do better right now?” —Jeff Eckes
LDR Group will be focused on Passive House-certified renovations and new home builds, Eckes feels strongly about not restricting its work to certified projects. No matter how large or small the budget, LDR Group will bring the same building science-based performance to all of its renovation projects. With every project, Eckes is committed to using technologies such as high-performance insulation, advanced intelligent membranes, and triple-pane windows and doors. “The goal is Passive House Certification, but that can’t always be achieved in a renovation,” Eckes says. “Using the best building science available could represent a 50-percent reduction in energy use, versus the 70 percent from a certified project, and it will provide more comfort to the occupants over the lifespan of the renovation. Why would anyone commit to 50 years or more of a substandard future for their home, or the people who live there, when we have the knowledge and materials to do better right now?” Eckes’s passion for going the extra mile in pursuit of sustainability and resiliency is unusual for a small builder re-entering the space. “There is a steep learning curve and added operating costs associated with Passive House,” he says. “Our practice is focused on perfecting the craft of Passive House building science. Whether we are building a new house or retrofitting a home, we always want to take it to the next level and build like all of our lives depend on it. We are convinced that widespread adoption of these principles can and will bring the cost of materials down, improving the techniques required for Passive House building and making it accessible to more and more people.” Ldrgroup.net/blog
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Enhancing Your Home Ecosystem The Benefits of Landscaping with Native Plants
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Top: Native pollinator garden in summer. Bottom: The cardinal flower (lobelia x speciosa), which blooms in July and lasts through September, is great for attracting hummingbirds and thrives in rain gardens.
f you’re committed to making your home healthier and more energy-efficient, you might think that it’s only the decisions you make about what goes into your house that matters. But if you want to bring your well-being at home full-circle, you should take another look at the landscape that surrounds your house. “One of the benefits of living upstate is being surrounded by nature, but that doesn’t come naturally anymore,” says John Messerschmidt, owner of Hudson Valley Native Landscaping, based in High Falls. “Many trees are diseased, fallen, or unhealthy, and invasive plants have taken over. We have a responsibility to create the conditions for healthy forests and to maintain diversity.” Homeowners who design their landscapes with the region’s ecology in mind not only create beautiful gardens, but they can help repair and balance the local ecosystem, reduce resource consumption, and promote a sense of oneness with their surroundings. Messerschmidt often works with new homeowners who have acquired unmaintained, overgrown gardens and woodlands to foster the natural ecology of their land using forestry restoration and permaculture techniques. As part of this rejuvenating journey, his team starts by clearing out non-native plants like bittersweet, multiflora rose, and Asian honeysuckle, which allows native plants that have a history of beneficial relationships with other local plants, animals, and insects to soon thrive. “That’s when we can get creative and start planting for diversity and positive impact on wildlife,” he says. “Birds don’t like the invasives
anymore than we do, so what’s beautiful for them will be beautiful for us.” Planting native species like brightly colored monarda (commonly known as bee balm), candle-like black cohosh, and creeping dogwood will delight local pollinators (and as a bonus, are deer-resistant). Native plants are also a win-win when it comes to energy conservation since they’re often grown at local nurseries, not shipped in from warmer climates. “The energy to get those plants grown and to your door is less than if it were a cultivated species that isn’t native to our region,” he says. Plants that are native to the Northeast also require less water because they have evolved to tolerate the natural cycles of our climate. Other landscaping tactics, like planting native trees on the west side of the house to help buffer cold winter winds, can be a boon to your heating bill. No matter what native plants you end up choosing, their beauty will enhance the landscape around your home and contribute to your pleasure of living there. Curating gardens near your windows, patio, or deck with plants that spark visual interest year-round ensures that you will be immersed in nature each season—whether barbecuing among the flowers in the summer months or cozied up near a window during the winter to watch the birds search for seeds in your garden. “Choosing native plants gives you the opportunity to have beautiful gardens and contribute to nature in a fundamental way,” Messerschmidt says. “We design gardens that will have something blooming in every season, so you can feel connected to the nature that we’re a part of.” Hudsonvalleynative.com
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PASSIVE HOUSE GUIDE
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The High-Performance Ethos Architect Richard Pedranti Is Bringing Responsible, Comfortable, and Healthy Buildings to Life
rowing up in Milford, Pennsylvania, just across the Delaware River from Orange County, instilled a strong commitment to sustainability in Richard Pedranti. “I was surrounded by historic architecture and the legacy of Gifford Pinchot, the father of the national conservation movement and our nation’s first forester,” Pedranti explained. “It’s a powerful legacy of stewardship.” It was at Penn State University where Pedranti officially began his architectural education—punctuated with side trips to study at Pratt, Cornell, and abroad at the University of Florence. After graduating with his masters from Harvard, he apprenticed in NYC before eventually opening his own firm, Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District in 1996. Throughout his career, sustainable and human-centered creations have been Pedranti’s true north. “I found Passive House and I was hooked after the intensive certification training. I’ve never looked back. I appreciate the science focus, and the fact that it marries aesthetics with building physics. Unlike other sustainability guidelines, Passive House requires rigorous testing to prove that these buildings perform.” Today, Pedranti’s firm is located back in Milford and his team primarily works in the Upper Delaware River region, as well as Philadelphia and New York, putting modern building science to work creating high-performance buildings that are beautiful, healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient. By utilizing the principles of Passive House—solar orientation, high insulation, high-performance windows, an airtight enclosure, and balanced ventilation with heat recovery—in its designs, RPA provides clients with a comfortable, quiet, durable home that maintains better indoor air quality and has a typical 80 percent reduction in heating and cooling costs. While the initial cost of investment in Passive House may be higher, the low-maintenance mechanicals and energy savings quickly pay homeowners back, allowing the transition to fully net-zero living to be easily realized. “Passive House construction was always a good idea. The quality of life and sustainability expectations of today’s homebuyer are propelling it into the mainstream now and adoption has exploded,” Pedranti says. “We designed, engineered, and supervised the construction of our first certified Passive House in 2012 and proved it could be done on a slim budget. Now it’s just what we do.” That first RPA Passive House was honored with Green Builder Magazine Passive House of the Year and RPA has become recognized as a national leader in Passive House design. The firm was recognized with two prestigious awards in 2020 from the American Institute of Architects and their Committee on the Environment for sustainable projects in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey and Albany, New York. 2021 has already seen Pedranti further the goal of Passive House accessibility as RPA has announced a partnership with Plant Prefab to launch three stunning prefabricated Passive House models. This innovative strategy will provide homeowners with all of the traditional Passive House benefits while shortening delivery time, further propelling the adoption of this revolutionary and sustainable architectural movement. Richardpedranti.com
Top to bottom: Lang St. Marie Net Zero Residence, Spring Lake Heights, NJ. A beach getaway for a retired couple from Brooklyn. The design employs Passive House principles to achieve Net Zero Energy with a small and affordable roof mounted PV system. Photo by Jeff Totaro Dickerman Residence, Sullivan County, NY. A weekend home for a New York City publishing executive located on a boulderstrewn escarpment overlooking a secluded lake in the Catskills. Photo by Jeff Totaro Mullane Residence, Woodstock, NY. Located in a former bluestone quarry featuring a dramatic floor-to-ceiling glass front façade providing panoramic views of the Catskill Mountains. Photo by Caroline Lefevre 20
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