When it comes to home building, you need to be aggressive to end up passive. That’s the attitude at a project on Sonoma’s Third Street East that will be the first Certified Passive House retrofit in the country. The high-tech marvel will cut energy use by 90 percent of a traditional home, has no furnace and its mechanical systems fit in the linen closet
The O’Neill residence is a1960s single-story, two-bedroom, two-bath home with about 2,400 sq. ft. of interior space. The retrofit by builder Rick Milburn and his crew of Napa-based Solar Knights Construction retained its original foundation and about 40 percent of the walls.
The result “blows away” state energy and environment standards, Milburn said, without sacrificing appearance or comfort.
“These don’t need to look like Frankenstein’s child,” Milburn said. “This is a sophisticated, family-oriented home that has great aesthetics and livability.”
“This is the future of energy efficiency, here now,” he said.
Building and remodeling to Passive House standards is the most practical way for California to achieve the big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions required by 2020, Milburn said. The technology will allow new residential buildings to be net zero energy.
According to Milburn, there’s really nothing passive about a passive house. It works on an aggressive combination of high levels of structural insulation, hyper-efficient windows and doors and passive solar.
The result is a well insulated, virtually air-tight home in which most of the “heat” comes from the humans and appliances inside of it. Heat exchangers, and a small backup cooling system, maintain comfortable temperatures with minimum energy.
The O’Neill project was modeled on the Passive House Standard developed in Germany and now getting the attention of sustainable builders in the U.S.
The three wings of the Sonoma house wrap around a Mediterranean-style courtyard, with the public rooms and kitchen enjoying a sunny southern exposure. When it’s finished, the house’s efficiency will extend beyond its walls. The roof is made from recycled content, and the yard will feature dryscaping nourished by rainwater tanks stored under a permeable surface driveway.
“The owner, Cathy O’Neill, saw what this house could be, but, better than that, saw what it should be,” Milburn said,
