the benefi ts of Passive House—low energy bills, improved air quality, thermal comfort, noise control—than through your own building? In March, Hagerman and Thomas began retrofi tting a 2-story mixed-use space they own in Portland’s Southeast Division neighborhood, which is undergo- ing a major renaissance of its own. The 1916 building, known as Glasswood, had housed many tenants and businesses during its long history but underwent its most im- portant programming yet: It is the nation’s fi rst commercial Passive House retrofi t and, appropriately, the new offi ce of Hammer & Hand’s home performance and building science division.
NUANCES OF PASSIVE HOUSE The Passive House concept was estab- lished in 1990 in Germany. The fi rst U.S. Passive House was built just six years ago and although the numbers of U.S. Passive Houses continue to grow, Hagerman says “proof of concept” is just beginning to take hold. He believes the best way to showcase the benefi ts of a Passive House is through demonstration projects, like Glasswood. “Our offi ce space allows us to talk about
and demonstrate energy-conservation prin- ciples, building science and Passive House because it is a living, breathing example of a very low-load building,” he says. Hagerman, who currently is president of the Chicago-based Passive House Alliance U.S., an organization that connects Passive House consultants, says Passive House doesn’t require building professionals to source strange materials or follow unfamil- iar building techniques. “If we’re forced to use expensive and imported materials and equipment we’re going to have trouble get- ting market penetration,” he explains. “We need to use materials and techniques that are familiar to U.S. builders and not some esoteric wall construction.” In fact, Hagerman says, Passive House
has no prescriptive requirements; if a build- ing’s heat load is less than 4.75 kBtu per square foot per year and total energy use is 38.1 kBtu per square foot per year while air exchanges are at 0.6 per hour at 50 pas- cal the building has met the standard. Hagerman adds there are stringent comfort, hygrothermal and durability aspects impor- tant to the design and certifi cation process. Glasswood, which is approximately