A Sustainable Home on Vancouver Island

Here is her sustainable story:

Rise: Why did you decide to pursue Passive House design for your new home?

Claire: When I started to work with an architect who had 'green' building experience, I told him I wanted to include energy efficiency in the design. He asked "How green do you want to go?" and provided options. One option was Passive House, which was a new concept to me, so I had to do some research on it. It really resonated with me, my value system, and the idea of both cost containment and being good to the environment. So we decided to design and build toward Passive House standards. However, along the way, there were some design features included that meant I probably wouldn't get Passive House certification. At that point the design was a priority for me, knowing that I would still have a highly efficient house. I didn't feel the need to go all the way to certification, especially if it meant I couldn't get the design I wanted. I also liked the idea of using 'cutting edge' practices. There was only 1 house on Vancouver Island that had been built to Passive House standards and was certified and one house in the process of being built on Gabriola Island. I could be #3! I hoped that having a progressive concept I could help spread the word about energy efficiency and sustainability.

Rise: Did your contractor have experience with Passive House prior to your project?

Claire: My contractor was Pheasant Hill Homes in Nanaimo, British Columbia. They were building the Passive House on Gabriola Island and their site manager had taken the Passive House courses. They were anxious to get my contract once they saw the potential to have a local example of an architecturally designed Passive House. So it became a win-win situation. Their skill as builders of energy-efficient homes was proven when we had the two blower door tests: mid-construction (Feb. 2016) the result was 0.1859 ACH, and the final result, done a week before completion, was 0.23 ACH.