Passive House-Letter to the Editor...

A few weeks ago John Dodge of the Olympian wrote a great article introducing the concepts of Passive House. I subsequently noticed a few comments on-line that prompted this ‘letter to the editor’ as a way to clarify a few points about the Passive House Standard. Dear Editor- It was strikingly dramatic for me to read John Dodge’s recent article about the Passive House movement, and even more poignant to consider that The Olympian’s readership is becoming more keenly aware of this amazing approach to energy efficient homes.  I am Tessa Smith, Certified...

Home Energy Efficiency Program...

reprinted from the Olympian Incentives to repair that leaky home Resources: Program examines house’s efficiency JOHN DODGE; Staff writer | • Published June 01, 2010 Olympia – Eli and Molly Levitt were among the first homeowners in Thurston County to sign up for a program to help area residents and businesses use energy wisely. When the couple bought a 1913 home nearly two years ago on Wilson Street in Olympia, they knew it wasn’t the most energy-efficient home around. They insulated the attic and basement, installed compact fluorescent ...

How to Select Green Cabinets...

Choosing what is actually green these days can be head-spinning, how can you always be certain that what you are choosing is the best option for you and the environment? For cabinet selection, here’s one good way to know if your cabinet of choice is sustainable:  The  Environmental Stewardship Program Seal (ESP) is an environmental certification program that specifically targets kitchen and bath cabinets, developed by The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA).  This Seal is what assures you that the manufacturing practices and materials used meet...

Passive House Training...

Passive House Training By Randy Foster, Owner, The Artisans Group I recently completed the first three days of training as a Certified Passive House Consultant last week.  During the first day of class, I was struck by the fact that there are a lot of really smart people studying the Passive House approach.  I was impressed by that, and I felt really honored to have been accepted into this year’s training program!  Each of the 25 students in my class seemed to fully grasp the fact that designing and building a Passive House is rooted in attention paid to many small...

Architectural Styles...

Want to test your architectural style knowledge? The Oregonian has a down and dirty list of important architectural styles throughout the ages, from native long houses up to Contemporary. The list is comprehensive, but the information is simple, and concise and each style has sweet little illustrations. Each style features: The date range of popularity, the roots or origin of design, style characteristics, building materials commonly used and location in the country where the design is most often found. For those of you who have seen our building, it was loosely...

Passive House New Construction...

This is a link to a short article in USA Today. It’s about a recently certified Passive House in Salt Lake City. Passive House design can take on many architectural styles to suit the varied tastes out there, (note the Portland Remodel post), this Salt Lake house embodies a clean simplicity that ‘feels’ good to look at. The homeowners started a project blog that is fun to look at, especially the performance numbers if you are into that sort of thing. One of the primary numbers Passive House nerds like to discuss is ‘how many ACH?’ which...

Passive House Remodel Portland Oregon...

I wrote a few days ago California’s first certified Passive House remodel coming on board in July. As Passive House design picks up momentum, I thought you might enjoy reading about other projects around the nation. Here is an article about a 1997 Portland based home that was remodeled to Passive stands in 2009. Coincidentally, the owner of this home was at our regional Passive House meeting a few weeks ago as a speaker, talking about the process of remodeling his relatively new home to a high performance Passive House. In closing, he was asked what it’s like...

Passive House Remodel California...

I was snooping around this morning to see what’s happening out in the world with Passive House remodels. With housing stock being what it is with a big chunk of the pie dedicated to existing homes and as energy/life costs rise, Passive House remodels will quickly gain a foothold as Americans start to realize the inherent value in energy savings, comfort, and air quality. It’s true, a new Passive House would be easier to build, but, the fact remains that many of us REALLY like our current inefficient,  leaky homes. The only way to super-improve the performance...

South Sound Green Tour Reminder...

South Sound Green Tour Just a last reminder to check out the South Sound Green Tour this weekend April 17 &18. The Tour sites are open from 10am to 4pm, there is a schedule and map of the workshops and demonstrations here. Tuesday’s Olympian featured a front page article about the Cooper Residence, which will be on the tour. Tessa Smith, our building designer at The Artisans Group, designed the home and it was built by Cory Eckert, owner of Laupen Homes. It’s a PNW Mediterranean-style home with many green features that come together in a very impressive...

Green Tour Workshops at The Artisans Gro...

For the full list of all workshops and demonstrations at the South Sound Green Tour. Schedule of Workshops and Resources at The Artisans Group Design Center : Sat | Sun | 12pm | The Artisans Group Design Center | 1508 Fourth Avenue David Jennings of Rainier Renewable Energy will provide an opportunity for the public to view renewable energy systems up close – Wind, Solar Hot Water, Solar Electric, Geothermal, and Greywater recycling systems – that anyone can add to their homes to save money, live greener,  and be more energy independent.   Experts will...