Sweeney Architecture

Passive House buildings provide many benefits to occupants and owners. Its well-insulated enclosure keeps indoor air temperatures comfortable year-round while reducing the energy used for heating and cooling by up to 90%.  These dramatic energy savings makes operation and maintenance much more affordable and protects people from price shocks. There are no drafts and provides excellent thermal and acoustic comfort. It is a safer and more resilient building in extreme weather & storms, allowing you to shelter in place until the utilities resume operation. It is a healthier building with lower incidents of allergies and asthma because the ventilation system supplies filtered fresh air while exhausting the stale air, continuously removing indoor pollutants and preventing outdoor pollutants from entering. Passive House ensures fundamental high performance for all people.

While everyone can benefit from PH improvements, it can be especially meaningful for low-income communities for several reasons: (1) In dozens of major U.S. cities, low-income neighborhoods are more likely to be hotter than their wealthier counterparts, which can have dire and sometimes deadly health consequences; (2) Poorer communities tend to be exposed to higher concentrations of air pollution compared to richer communities; and (3) High energy utility costs can have significant negative economic and health consequences for low-income families.  Energy cost burden (defined as paying more than 6% of income towards energy costs) disproportionately affects low-income individuals.  One study found that 78% of families earning below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) were energy cost burdened.  Building to PH standards can help address all three of these issues (more stable indoor temperatures, improved air quality, reduced energy costs), resulting in a better quality of life and cost savings for low income individuals.

Passive House works in all climates, from the very cold arctic, to the hot and humid tropics.

Yes, building greenhouse gas emissions are driven by operation energy and embodied energy. (Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the building’s construction and maintenance.)  Passive House is the most effective method at reducing operational energy, crushing space heating demand, and operational energy use, along with the associated emissions.

Passive House Certification does not have an embodied carbon emissions requirement.  However, the Passive House methodology can (and should) support making low-to-negative embodied carbon buildings.  The Passive House Network is actively supporting building teams in achieving such reductions with the PHribbon, a Passive House energy model plug-in that allows designers to actively incorporate embodied carbon emissions calculations into the design process and provide comprehensive snapshots of a building’s potential climate impact.

PH design standard is flexible, and can be applied to any building or size.  In addition to varied materials, and mechanical systems, completed certified projects are not just residential and include a hospital, assisted living, car dealership, textile factory, a dentist’s office, schools, dormitories and more.

Passive House is performance based, and not prescriptive, therefor Passive House buildings can use any construction type and cladding.