Passive House Consulting

Passive House is a green building standard originating in Germany recently brought to the States by the Passive House Institute of the US. It’s based on predicted performance and results in very low-energy buildings that maintain comfortable temperatures with minimal input using passive measures as the primary strategy for conservation. The name is a bit of a misnomer; the German word “haus” translates directly to shelter or building – not house. Passive House’s technical focus is clearly on Energy; however a strict focus on Building Science is prevalent. Actual Passive House performances are showing that they can achieve a 70-90% reduction in energy consumption, within 10% of the predicted performance.

O’Brien & Company provides Passive House consulting to builders, architects or others who want to achieve very high performing homes using Passive House to achieve certification or simply to apply the principles to achieve dramatic energy savings. Services include:

• Certified Passive House Consulting and Certification Submittals
  
• Passive House Energy Modeling
  
• Air Sealing, Design and Construction Consulting
  
• 3rd Party Blower Door Testing and Air Sealing Diagnostic
  
• Cost Analysis
  
• Embodied Energy Consulting
  
• Education and Training