In July, Portland, Ore.-based Root Design Build broke ground on a single-family house in Hood River, Ore., that will be built to the rigorous Passivhaus (Passive House) standards of energy efficiency, which were developed in Germany in the early 1990s.

The project, named Shift House, will be so insulated and energy efficient that there is no need to include a furnace. With air leakage and heat loss virtually eliminated, the home can be heated with passive solar techniques or from lighting and electronics— or even from body heat.

Although more than 10,000 Passive Houses have been constructed in Europe, only a small number of projects have been built in the U.S. Shift House is anticipated to be the first Passive House constructed west of
the Mississippi.

Q: What are the design considerations of the Passive House concept?

The Passive House concept is rooted in energy efficiency, which is a very old idea. What is innovative about such a simple concept is that the Passive House principle focuses on the integrity of the building envelope, which directly reduces the heating and cooling loads by 90 percent. Up until now, the building industry was focused on finding more efficient ways to heat buildings instead of ways to reduce the need for heating in the first place.

Q: What are some of your goals in building this house?

Our immediate goal is to achieve Passive House certification and prove that we are able to build a house that will create a better future. Our ultimate goal is the education of the public and raising awareness about the impact of our homes on the environment.  

Q: In terms of energy efficiency, how do LEED standards compare
to those of German Passivhaus?

The Passive House movement is a natural progression of the LEED standard. LEED is a great program that raises awareness as to how sustainability influences all aspects of building.  It was never created to be the ultimate certification of a building, but was meant to be a great step in the right direction. The strong point of LEED is its breadth and holistic approach to sustainability. The Passive House movement is a lunge beyond because it focuses on energy consumption, which is the biggest challenge with building today.

Q: What is the future of the Passive House movement in the U.S.? How does
your business fit into this?

Passive House movement is the future. With energy prices and pollution levels rising, we have to make big steps to create change. Buildings use over 40 percent of the overall energy in the U.S. today, but we have a solution that will take the household out of that equation altogether. In order to get there we will need support from all parties involved. Architects and builders need to be willing to learn and change their practices, clients should demand higher standards and be willing to do new things, and government incentives need to be set for new materials and techniques necessary for progress.

While working on Shift House we had to come up with a new wall assembly. We were working on a super-insulated wall that will have a minimum number of thermal bridges and will be easy to build. If our wall performs the way we expect, and which our energy model verifies, we hope to share our idea with the building community and do all that we can to improve our built environment.

Behind the scenes
Area: 1,741 square feet
Walls: R-Value 42
Roof: R-Value 60
Windows: High-performance triple-pane
South-facing Windows: Equipped with sliding exterior sunscreens made from horizontal wood slats