Category: Owners

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The international Passivhaus Standard produces exceptionally healthy, comfortable, durable and energy efficient buildings in cold and hot climates. Is there any need for it in ‘Goldilocks Climates’ around the world, though? You know, places where the porridge climate isn’t too hot and isn’t too cold, it’s just right.

The short answer is, yes: the same benefits apply. And in California, all new residential buildings will need to be Net Zero Energy from 2020. Passivhaus is a reliable means of getting to Net Zero Energy (if you must) while enjoying all the comfort, health and durability benefits that other routes to Net Zero Energy don’t guarantee.

A ‘Goldilocks Climate’ doesn’t mean Passivhaus is all plain sailing, though, as I found out from the owner of the first Passivhaus in Los Angeles.

I met Xavier Gaucher in California in October 2017, while he was still building the first Passivhaus in Los Angeles: the “Perlita Passive House.” And it is not just a Passivhaus, but a Passivhaus retrofit (EnerPHit). Los Angeles has one of those ‘Goldilocks Climates’ where the temperature is hot in summer (15 – 28 °C), warm in winter (8 – 21 °C) and there isn’t a huge overnight swing.

What can we learn from the challenges Xavier faced designing and building a Passivhaus (retrofit) in a ‘Goldilocks Climate’ and getting to Net Zero Energy?

Title Image "Passivhaus Goldilocks in LA"

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This blog post is a review of “The Passivhaus Handbook” published in October 2012. The authors wrote and compiled this practical handbook for anyone who wants to be involved in delivering ultra-low energy housing. Janet Cotterell and Adam Dadeby were the architect – client team for the Totness Passivhaus B&B, the third retrofit in the UK to be certified to the Passivhaus Standard. Following their work together on the B&B they formed Passivhaus Homes and subsequently wrote The Passivhaus Handbook.

The Passivhaus Handbook is:

…intended to provide knowledge of both the methodology and the skills needed to achieve genuinely low-energy buildings, whether new or retrofitted, that perform as intended.

While passivhaus is not just for houses, The Passivhaus Handbook really is the ‘bible’ for developing passivhaus housing, particularly if you are thinking of a self-build passivhaus. The authors give substantial background into the “how and why of passivhaus” and then hold your hand through the whole process of a project. There is valuable guidance on setting up a passivhaus project, particularly applicable to self-build passivhaus, and then key practical aspects of a passivhaus project are each given a chapter. The book wraps up with chapters on living in a passivhaus, illustrated with four case studies, and a chapter specifically about UK policy.

011 Self-build Passivhaus Handbook
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