Flatrock Passive House: A Passive House in Newfoundland

People in Canada typically use about 75 litres of water per day.  In a 3 person household, the total hot water consumption would amount to about 225 litres per day.  We can safely assume that the water entering the hot water tank is somewhere between ground temperature (7 deg Celsius) and room temperature.  Lets say 10 deg C.  Using the heat capacity of water, one can calculate the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of the water from 10 deg C to 55 deg C.  That amount of energy is about 11.8 kWh.  Typical electric tanks consume about 0.5 kWh in standby losses and you can safely assume you'll loose another 0.5 kWh in pipe loses.  So the to total energy used for hot water in a 3 person household is about 12.8 kWh.  Assuming average usage patterns, the total amount used per year will be 12.8 kWh/day x 365 days/year = 4672 kWh/year. This is about the same energy requirements as the total heating load for a 2000 sf Passive House. ...

When I was a boy, I remember going into the forrest with my father cutting wood.  We had an old Elan 12 HP.  It was the ugliest looking skidoo ever but it could pull a massive amount of wood.....and thats what he pulled...and pulled, and pulled.  Can't remember how many cords exactly but I remember we would cut it up and throw it in a pile....and it was the size of a small mountain.  When spring came, we would split each piece with an axe and then stack it.  I remember 3 or 4 tiers of wood stacked 4' high and the tiers were probably 25'-30' long. It would dry for the summer and then we would throw it aboard a truck and bring it to our house where we would then throw it into a shed and stack it again.   It was a lot of work.   It was dirty.  I swore that I would never touch wood again....until now. I currently use a propane fireplace.  Its convenient....and that is where it ends.  Propane as an energy source is non-renewable, it's shipp...

Since yesterday there have been several rounds of plans and renderings.  We are trying to capture the Newfoundland vernacular architectural style: The Saltbox. Saltbox homes are simple, linear, built to shed the newfoundland climate with a steep pitched roof.  They also happen to be a great shape for a Passive House.  Here are a couple of the floor plans and renderings: The main difference between the two plans is the gable orientation on the garage.  Sch-3 has a much simpler roof line than Sch-4  This may be our best option since the area over the breeze way can be included in the thermal envelope of the garage and add for extra space in the garage attic.  We can add a shed canopy to the front/back of either plan to act as shading over the south facing windows if necessary.  We'll see....next round to come soon....

So, which HRV do you want for your home?  This is a question not often asked by the homeowner.  When the house is built, somebody installed an HRV and that was it.  The home owner is rarely involved in anything other than turning a knob on the HRV wall control if they dare fool with it at all.  An HRV is probably one of the most important appliances in your house;  it expels moisture, eliminates odours, evacuates stale air from bathrooms, provides clean air to keep you healthy and it recovers a lot of heat that would have otherwise been blown out through the vent on the house.  It serves three main functions: 1.  Supplies the home with fresh dry air. 2.  Removes stale air and removes excess moisture. 3.  Recovers heat or heat/moisture For a low energy home we need an HRV that is as efficient as possible.  With the ventilation unit taking care of exchanging most of the air in the building, having an efficient one will pay for itself...

A house design has to work with your lifestyle;  Otherwise it's an awkward house to live in.  Getting a layout right is important.  A good orientation for the house is also equally important.  Both work hand in hand.  It also needs to work in conjunction with the lot.  Does the lot have a south side yard?  Will it be shaded by adjacent structures? Do the grades on the lot facilitate a frost protected shallow foundation or will you need to pour footings and a stem wall?  These are all important questions...and there are many more questions beyond the layout which will affect the total energy consumed/produced by the building.  Knowing all of these answers up front are the key to a successful project. In the first part of the project, the lot grading plan, the foot print of the house and the layout are all planned together to ensure that the internal layout of the building matches the best orientation on the lot to capture solar gains.  ...

A home is more than a floor plan.  Based on the Passive House Principles presented earlier, there are a lot of details to get right beyond a simple floor plan.    If you want a performance home, that has predictable energy usage, it comes at a price.  That premium is a small price to pay.  The final outcome is a predictable home.  Working with an architect and/or a passive house consultant is probably the most important part of the project.  Without their expertise, you'll still end up with a super-insulated house which will decrease your energy bill, but other details may be missed.  Will overheating be a factor?  Do you need extra overhangs to minimize solar gain during the summer?  Do your north facing windows loose more energy in the winter than the solar gains on the south face?  These questions can be answered up front, before the home gets built!  Thats the job of the Passive House consultant. We wanted to keep our b...

The energy requirements for the Passive House standard (PHIUS) are pretty tight if you compare them against a code built home.  The home must be built to satisfy several key factors which are dependent on climate as per the map below.  The specifications that I am concentrating on are for climate region 6A 1.   Primary Energy Demand  of the building can't be any more than (# bedrooms +1)*6200kWh.  Which gives  a total of 24800 kWh.  This seems like a lot but you'll see, its not a much as you may think. 2.  The Total Annual Heating Demand has to be <25.3 kWh/sq. m.  (internal floor area).  For a typical 2000 sq. ft. home this will give a total of about 5000 kWh 3.  The Peak Heating Load has to be less than 13.5 W/sq. m. (internal floor area).  So on the coldest day of the year, if it's not sunny, the heat requirements of a 2000 sq. ft. building will be about 2600 W.  So a 2000 sq. ft. home could he heated w...