Architecture

Washington DC's first family in a "Passive House" see a brighter future

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Lakiya Culley cuts the ribbon on her new home (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
The Passive House model of Empowerhouse under construction in Washington, DC (Photo: Habitat for Humanity)
The house's private timber deck space (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
Empowerhouse was built with energy-efficient applicances (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
Outdoor space was important to Lakiya Culley and her family (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
Super-insulation and triple-glazed windows help to maintain a stable and comfortable internal temperature (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
Lakiya Culley moved into the house with her three children in May 2013 (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
The house was finished in December 2012 (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
The original Empowerhouse design was augmented for the DC Habitat program with a second floor, two extra bedrooms and another bathroom (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
One of the children's bedrooms in the Empowerhouse built for DC Habitat (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
All of the Empowerhouse appliances have high energy-efficiency ratings (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
Outdoor space was an important feature for Lakiya Culley and her children (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
Lakiya Culley at work on her new Passive House (Photo: Parsons New School)
Lakiya Culley cuts the ribbon on her new home (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)
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It won first prize in the Affordability category of the 2011 Solar Decathlon, and in December of 2012 Empowerhouse became Washington DC’s first Passive House. In a video interview just released by the US Department of Energy, its new owner describes how the house's energy-saving design means a brighter future for her family.

The US Solar Decathlon is a biannual event that challenges university teams to design and build the best energy-efficient houses judged on a set of 10 criteria. The team behind Empowerhouse partnered with Habitat for Humanity in Washington DC to further develop its model as part of the charity’s affordable housing scheme. Completed in December 2012, it became the first house in the nation's capitol to be built to Passive House standards – these are a set of guidelines on energy-efficient design and construction for residential buildings. According to the Department of Energy, homes built to Passive House standards in the US consume 90 percent less energy than typical houses.

Empowerhouse was designed and built by a team of students and faculty from Parsons the New School for Design; Milano Institute of International Affairs, Management and Urban Affairs at the New School; and Stevens Institute of Technology. The one-bedroom, 900 square-foot (83 square-meter) demonstration house was built at a cost of just under US$230,000.

The Passive House model of Empowerhouse under construction in Washington, DC (Photo: Habitat for Humanity)

After the event, which took place on the Mall in Washington DC, the home was moved to the historic Deanwood neighborhood of the city. There, in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity’s program for affordable housing, it was altered to accommodate a larger family. A second story was built, expanding it to a 1,300-square-foot (120 sq m), three-bedroom, two-bath home.

DC Habitat and its volunteers then built a matching house next door, creating a two-family duplex. Owing to the affordable construction process, DC Habitat has already begun work on six more energy-efficient townhomes that will follow the same Passive House design standards as the Empowerhouse.

In the video released on October 28th, Lakiya Culley, who moved in with her three children in early May, describes how the new house has helped her family to save money and enjoy a healthier environment.

Ms. Cully previously lived in a two-bedroom apartment where, she says, her children couldn't play outside, and trying to be energy efficient was difficult. “In the winter time in our apartment building we had to open the windows,” she says, because of overheating. Additionally, the extremes of heat and cold affected her family's health. By contrast, her current home's thermally efficient building methods, such as the “super insulation” and triple-glazed windows, keep the internal temperature stable and comfortable while the solar panels produce the necessary energy for heating and power.

Culley also cites the positive financial impact from having no energy bills, as she is now able to take her children on outings and to save for their education. Having helped to build her own house as part of the Habitat for Humanity program, she has also learned about energy use and feels that other people can be helped to save on their energy bills by developing better habits.

Empowerhouse was built with energy-efficient applicances (Photo: Sarah Gerrity, US Dept of Energy)

Lakiya’s home has “site zero” energy consumption, meaning that the solar panels supply only the amount needed for the house. This is banked with an energy affiliate and an equal amount is taken from the grid to run the house. Though her house is not supplying any extra energy to the grid, it is not using more than it banks, so in effect she is supplying all of her own energy needs.

On the future of energy-conscious building in the US, Sam Rashkin, Chief Architect of the Energy Department’s Building Technologies Office says that "Passive House is the most aggressive voluntary label for energy-efficient homes.” It has only recently been introduced in the US, and currently “represents a very niche label in the housing industry with about 150 certified homes.”

He points out however, that there are other government-backed schemes for energy-efficient housing that are more widespread, such as “over 1.5 million Energy Star Certified Homes and nearly 15,000 Builders Challenge certified homes (now the Department of Energy Challenge Home)."

Source: US Department of Energy

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3 comments
Paul Adams
Go's to show small scale projects can be just as momentous as large scale ones.
Dekarate
Would love to see the actual meter readings for the year once the family has lived there and see if its really a zero set exchange. $230k before the addition of a second story at untold cost. Takes a lot of energy savings over many years to replace. Trulia.com has a 3bedroom in Deanwood-seciton of DC at $138k. $150 a month for utilities takes 55 years to break even on the $100k difference, before the second floor costs are added in. Penny wise pound foolish
steveraxx
So many of the comments to an article are negative. This writer enjoys the many things that gizmag brings to my attention, positive technology.
As concerns this home and its attendant costs, it is for now a one-off. And so the price is not reflective of what could be accomplished by a large scale builder who adopts this sort of technology into building homes. The old economies of scale trope that so many seem to either not be aware of, or do not grant it its proper place when referring to costs.