A New Passive House in Vermont

Here is a link to the video on a Passive House in Vermont in today’s New York Times. 

To read the entire article click here.

We take issue with one statement: “It has been a good deal more expensive to build, however, than the average home.”  Using readily available technology and products, this has not been true in our case. We had each subcontractor price out the differential cost for the Passive House components in his work— foundation work, heavier SIP panels, extra insulation, upgraded windows, mechanical systems, etc.  We then compared the development costs of this house versus the cost had the same team built it as a standard good quality, well-insulated house. We found that the increased cost for this house is about 8%.

The real issue to look at with regard to cost is the true cost of ownership: monthly mortgage payment plus monthly utilities cost. I will be posting something soon comparing our house to a conventional house of the same size in those terms.