Shift House - The Passivhaus standard comes to Portland

The Shift House is a $300,000 home  being built right here in Portland using the German Passivhaus standard.  The Passivhaus standard saves 90% of heating/cooling energy use by having an airtight house with no unwanted heat gain or loss.  The triple layered triple sealed windows and walls make it so that you can heat the whole house with only a standard blow dryer.  Though if not done properly, the Passivhaus homes can get too warm for comfort on the inside.  In order to prevent overheating the house, or air stagnation, there are several fresh air exchangers around the house that keep fresh air coming in from outside without any energy loss.  Passivhaus standards are often used right alongside the LEED standard, although LEED only strives for 15% improvement on energy efficiency while Passivhaus aims for 90% improvement.  The greatest part about having a Passivhaus is the lack of a furnace, you heard that right, no furnace at all in the entire place.  Passivhaus homes are not that popular in the US yet (only 7 have been built), and is much more common in Germany right now.  For a 10-15% increase in the cost of building the home, you can reduce 90% of its heating and cooling needs forever.  This is a great step towards having a carbon zero home.  Read more about the Shift House at Willamette Weekly.