Getting Active With Passive Houses

Nancy Sirianni's overhaul of dream house by Long Island's gold coast will have recycled pine boards, a new second floor and attic—but no furnace.

In Teaneck, N.J., engineer Len Moskowitz estimates the heating bill for the four-bedroom home that he and wife plan to build will run $200 annually.

And in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, developer Brendan Aguayo believes that the demand for environmentally friendly, low-energy use apartments is so great that buyers will pay a premium for one of four units in a renovated brownstone at 96 St. Marks Ave.

Ms. Sirianni, Mr. Aguayo and the Moskowitz family are among the early tri-state adopters of "passive houses"—a type of "green" housing that is growing in popularity in Europe and is now reaching the U.S.

Instead of focusing on environmentally friendly ways to produce energy, passive houses cut the need for energy consumption in the first place—by as much as 90% compared with the average American home, backers of the passive-house movement say.

A combination of air-tight building materials, insulation calibrated for the local climate and windows set to maximize the angle of incoming sunlight all are designed to reduce energy needs. Even the expected body heat of the building occupants is factored into the calculations.

In addition, a small filtration and energy-recovery system ventilates passive houses and heats cool air pulled in from outside. In deep winter, a small space heater might be needed to break the chill.

"If it's a very cold winter night, you just have a party—the extra body heat will do the rest," says Floris Buisman, a New York architect.

Mr. Buisman and fellow architect Andreas Benzig are co-founders of a New York offshoot of the German-based Passive House Institute that aims to educate both the public and building professionals about passive houses.

Costs for passive-house construction usually run between 5% and 10% above the average building project, according to Messrs. Benzig and Buisman. But developers say they hope a green home with the promise of low utility bills will attract more buyers willing to pay a premium for a passive house.

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http://tiny.cc/33woz Phtoto by Natalie Keyssar for WSJ