Engineering tomorrow’s energy solutions today.

Germany’s “Passivhaus” Turning Heads

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Most energy professionals are quick to point out that customers can get three times higher return by improving their building’s efficiency over installing a wind or solar system. And, of course, that makes total sense: why install a state of the art renewable energy system if it is simply going to blow energy out the top of the house.

Germany, though, has taken energy efficient design to a level that is truly remarkable with their “passivhaus”. Check out a recent article in the New York Times about how these houses look, feel and work.

Passivhaus, involves super-insulating and sealing a home so tightly that it loses virtually no heat during cold weather, and, in fact, can be nominally heated by the sun, small appliances, and even human bodies.