Category Archives: COMMENTARY
Reader Question:Insulation Levels Passive House
November 30, 2011[Recent Reader Question] Subject: Insulations levels in a passive solar house Question: I’m interested in building a passive solar house using Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) walls, R-60 ceiling. What’s appropriate for under-slab in total R value? Answer: I’ll quickly …
Q & A on Passive House Appliances
November 13, 2011We recently received a thoughtful email from prospective clients who have been giving energy efficiency and Passive House design some serious consideration; their primary concerns with such a well insulated and tight home is with ventilation of moisture, cooking smells, …
Passive House Northwest
March 31, 2011Our regional Passive House Northwest conference, recently held at the Evergreen Long House, was a great success! The day began with a compelling and at times controversial keynote speech by Green Building Advisor’s Senior Editor, Martin Halloday, who set the …
Can I Afford Building Green?
February 7, 2011Can I afford to build green?
Happy Holidays!
December 23, 2010Happy Holidays! As I sit here winding up the week, getting ready to head over to the Methow Valley for a few days of holiday fun with friends, it occurs to me that it’s been a really good year. These …
National Passive House Conference
November 18, 2010Three of us from The Artisans Group (Randy, Tessa and Zeta), recently attended the three day North American Passive House (PH) Conference in Portland Oregon (Nov. 4 to 7). With almost 400 passionate PH pioneers attending, it was highly educational …
Is Passive House Overkill?
October 18, 2010This excellent post is reprinted from a June 16th, Building Capacity blog posting. See original here. Passive House: Isn’t it a bit of overkill? James Jenkins, Certified PH Consultant responds Jenny Nakao Hones of Three Frogs Design asks the question: …
Judges Choice Best Green Features
October 15, 2010The Tour of Homes is behind us and I can say it was the most fun we’ve ever had in 13 years of participation! We were fortunate to have good weather (yes, it rained a bit, but it wasn’t cold). …
Passive House and SIP's
October 5, 2010We chose not to use SIPs on our Certified Passive House for several poignant reasons.
Passive House: Homeowner Interview
October 1, 2010I recently caught up with DT North to interview him about his experience so far in building the second Passive House in Washington State: Describe the home project you are involved with at this time. We are building a …