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What is the EnerPHit Passive House Retrofit?
The Passive House Institute (PSI) of Germany recognizes that many older buildings cannot achieve the passive house standard's rigorous demands for new homes. Luckily, the PHI's EnerPHit renovation certification allows renovations of older homes to the exacting passive house standards. The EnerPHit renovation plan, when implemented in its totality, can enable even the oldest and draftiest of homes to achieve energy efficiency and reduce energy demand. Certified homes generally reach reductions between 75 and 90%, and some have even achieved up to 93 percent.
How Much Does an EnerPHit Passive House Retrofit Cost?
The costs will vary with the condition and size of the existing home. An old, uncared-for house will need much more work to achieve maximum thermal performance than a modern home that requires only a few upgrades. Some estimates find that you can expect to pay around thirty percent of your home's value for a complete EnerPHit passive house retrofit. This is especially true for homes over 20 years old.
So, for a $250,000 home, you might be looking at upwards of $75,000 in renovations. Now, let's imagine that you were able to reduce your utility bills by 90%. If you were paying around $200 per month on gas and electricity, you could expect yearly savings of almost $2,200. Just looking at that equation alone, it would take about 30 years to pay off the investment - but the payback becomes much quicker in areas with high energy costs and long winters. While this long a payback may sound unappealing from a financial perspective, it is not the whole picture. The analysis also must include two additional factors:
Increased Home Valuation
Your home would increase in value due to the passive house retrofit (a 5 kW solar PV system alone can increase the value of your home by almost $30,000). More and more, homeowners are looking at the sustainability of a home before they buy. They ask questions like "how much are the utility bills?" and "how durable is the home?" A retrofit that dramatically reduces energy bills and improves the home's comfort will fetch more money upon resale, so the investment should be recouped at the time of sale.
Home Comfort
Your home will be more comfortable to live in: less drafty, quieter, with healthier indoor air quality. Who would ever calculate a payback of a comfy couch? There is a genuine, immediate, and ongoing financial benefit that is just icing on the cake.
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How To Get Started With Passive House's EnerPHit Certification
Many homeowners don't have the financial resources to invest in a complete passive house retrofit and receive the EnerPHit certification. It is essential to keep in mind that there are still ways to make considerable improvements in your existing home's thermal performance and energy efficiency.
A simple energy audit will most likely help you identify the most important renovations that your home needs to increase its performance. In some cases, improving cavity wall insulation in a drafty bedroom might be enough to reduce your energy bills significantly. In other homes, replacing your old, single-pane windows with triple-glazed windows will do the trick.
Changing to a more energy-efficient home that seeks to achieve passive house standards can be a lifelong task. When your old boiler, furnace, or water heater finally dies, consider opting for a heat pump or solar water heating system to reduce your home's energy demand. Suppose your local government or utility offers rebates and incentives for home PV systems. In that case, you might find that it makes economic sense to transition to renewable energy.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.