Comments on: Dr. Joe Lstiburek Surprises Passive House Conference Attendees

By: Ric

Ric — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 01:52:05 +0000

Very interesting!
Very interesting!

By: Fernando Pages Ruiz

Fernando Pages Ruiz — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 20:30:56 +0000

I heard Joe speak candidly
I heard Joe speak candidly (for a Canadian) about Passive House at the DOE 2012 Technical Update.It would have been fun were frank while speaking to this group. But he understands we all aim at the same target, a complete, civilized life that we can sustain on this planet for thousands of years. In the long view, all of these experiments will lead to the ultimate balance Joe's looking for, the optimum, practical structures that consume virtually no energy and work economically and culturally for the mass market. He's in the 98-percent energy crowd of people that want a responsible house but don't want lives that revolve around it.

By: Ryan Shanahan

Ryan Shanahan — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 00:51:49 +0000

PH provides a pathway from
PH provides a pathway from the "Pretty Good House" to the Net Zero House. Once we've achieved all that we can from lowest hanging fruit in simple conservation techniques we have to address homes at the design stage to take them up to the next level. PH is a really good tool for doing that. I would argue that many PH projects in Europe are not officially certified because the design / build teams learned which methods were paying off and then repeated those methods, without going the extra mile to certify. If PH can provide that framework here in the states we can move to large scale net zero at affordable rates. Unfortunately, the trail blazers have the burden of the cost, but it's important to recognize that they also gain the recognition. Recognition is what builders need in a highly competitive market.

By: Greg La Vardera

Greg La Vardera — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 18:05:47 +0000

Encouraging the good ones is
Encouraging the good ones is great, but the sooner we bring the status quo on board, the sooner we will begin to make a difference in the way we build as a country and the amount of energy we use.

A lower fee structure for PH is NOT the solution. Its still a One House at a Time/Custom Solution paradigm.

No, what you need to do is take away a series of recommendations on building practices that any builder can implement - without the PH analysis.

You have to let go of that friends, 'cause it 'aint never gonna happen.

By: Ken Riead

Ken Riead — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:51:43 +0000

@Greg, now I understand
@Greg, now I understand better as to where you were going with your question. Our company has been in the business of conducting energy audits since our founding in Sept. of 1979 and I have hit my head against the builder's wall many times. There is a significant percentage of them who will never build anything better than what basically meets code. I don't think there is anything we can do to change their business philosophy.

However, I do think that more & more builders are beginning to see the light and these are the ones we should encourage. I agree that we need to come up with a lower fee structure and a systematic approach to PH. As I stated earlier, I strongly feel that the enlightened builders will continue to gain market share while the stubborn ones will fade away. Just my opinion...

By: Greg La Vardera

Greg La Vardera — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:58:42 +0000

@Ken, yes, I am familiar with
@Ken, yes, I am familiar with Meridian, and many others. Yet their numbers are dwarfed by the volume of uncaring builders serving the vastly greater portion of the population, who have little interest in these issues. These builders will not line up for PH. Its up to us to map out a path to higher performance that they will buy into. Expensive consulting on a house by house basis is not the paradigm.

By: Ken Riead

Ken Riead — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:49:49 +0000

Greg, I hope that you are
Greg, I hope that you are just kidding…? Cutting corners when building any type of building does not go unnoticed. It shows up in many ways, including high energy bills.

More to the point: There are numerous examples available now of builders who exclusively build and market energy efficient homes, even green or net-zero homes, who have customers waiting in line. One national example is Meridian Homes. Their basic home is an Energy Star Version 3.0 and they offer net-zero homes. They’ve been doing so well that they are looking at going public with a stock offering, while their competition is crying the blues. Meridian homes are even still selling in Las Vegas, where the market is one of the worst in the USA.

However, you can’t just build an energy efficient or green home & expect it to sell. You have to market it as well and, if you do, then there’s proof that customers will seek you out.

Here is a link to Meridian: http://meridianhomesinc.com/green-principles

By: Greg La Vardera

Greg La Vardera — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 05:32:21 +0000

What? So you are saying the
What? So you are saying the builders that cut corners and do whatever they can do to make more profits will not survive, and a builder who spends thousands on a certification and special consultant - they will survive?

I don't follow.

By: Ken Riead

Ken Riead — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 03:31:37 +0000

My experience is that most
My experience is that most builders have a 'herd' mentality. They look around constantly to find a style or floor plan that seems to sell and they copy it. If they can get their hands on an original set of plans, they'll copy that, too. No need to pay an architect when you can just run copies of a purloined set of plans.

In this same vein, builders tend to react negatively to anything that might even cost them a little money. So, getting them to pay for a rating or for any form of consulting is akin to drawing blood. However, if you look you can still find a progressive few who understand the big picture and build accordingly. In my mind, these are the builders who'll survive.

By: Greg La Vardera

Greg La Vardera — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:48:36 +0000

at risk of being redundant,
at risk of being redundant, Sweden has already achieved this, and they did not do it by creating model by which every house required detailed consultation on energy consumption. They did it by moving the entire industry to high performance model wall systems. The PH analysis is great, but as far as becoming the way the industry builds houses - its dead on arrival. They won't pay for an architect to design a house, never mind a PH consultant.