PASSIVE HOUSE DESIGN AND CONSULTATION
building a sustainable future
Okanagan College Passive House Certified Day Care by Ritchie Custom Homes
"Passive house (German: Passivhaus) is a rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, which reduces the buildings ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling."
The Business Case for building a Passive House
Climate Change has not only driven a moral imperative among business owners, homeowners, and Governments across the world. It has also stimulated a bottom-line approach to building.
This bottom-line approach has placed emphasis on social, economical, and environmental impacts buildings have on our communities today.
Passive House represents the lowest cost of ownership when one considers the costs of a mortgage, energy and maintenance costs.
Conventional construction practices generate space heating costs to be typically 75% of the total energy used by a home. With Passive House buildings, the heating demand load is reduced to 15 kWh/m²/yr, or 10 W/m², which represents a 90% reduction in energy requirements.
In today's climate of increasing energy reducing regulations, along with the risk of spiking energy costs, Passive House design is becoming an appealing option for our community members.