Flatrock Passive House: A Passive House in Newfoundland

The day to day operational costs of this building should be less than a code built home.   Lower energy use means lower energy bills.  In principle this should lead to simpler mechanical heating systems. This aspect of Passive House was always considered to be a way to tunnel through the cost barrier of all the extras ie triple glazed windows, high R-value walls, etc.  Often times the choice for a heat source is simple:  a mini split could provide all the heat required.  However, my choices were influenced by many factors: 1. Using PV panels provides a way to offset some of the source energy requirements of the building but since net metering wasn't allowed in the province at the time of my decision future installation of PV seemed like a pipe dream. 2. Rising cost of electricity.  Using a locally available, fuel source could offset some or most of the energy costs associated with being connected to the grid.  This could be made possible by targeting the site demand required by

Choosing insulation for the interior service wall was challenging.  I originally thought that I would do the work myself.  My plan was to fill the 2x4 space with batt insulation.  Intimidation set in once I realized how many wires, plumbing pipes, receptacles, and mechanical elements are integrated into the walls.  Reading this article at Energy Vanguard ( https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/54275/How-to-Grade-the-Installation-Quality-of-Insulation ) made me wonder; Is it possible to get a Class I installation in walls with so many "complications"?....cutting and splitting batts, handling them and pushing them around to fill the cavity uniformly...seemed like an impossibility. Luckily, Bill Gifford ( Home Shield Insulation ), the insulator for my attic spaces, also knows a thing or two...or three, about dense packing fibreglass.  He uses the Owens Corning ProPink wall insulation system ( http://insulation.owenscorning.ca/builders/products/propink.aspx ) which is really a ty