Energy efficiency lost in translation

Europeans have been building and marketing energy-efficient homes for years, and they have some valuable lessons in construction and design to offer the fledgling U.S. passive home industry.

But a problem similar to the inability to use European appliances in the United States exists in passive energy homes as well. U.S. and Canadian builders are struggling to market low- to zero-energy homes in any significant way. The model for the successful passive home simply works better across the Atlantic and several factors are to blame.

Passive describes the ability of these buildings to heat and cool independent of an active energy source. This reduces energy consumption to homes and offices; a step that even the most innovative of renewable energy advocates say is key to ending dependence on fossil fuels. While American technologies tend to focus on harnessing passive solar energy to heat homes in the winter, the most successful European model, Germany’s Passivhaus Institut, is concentrating on stopping loss of heat to the house in a variety of ways, including extensive insulation, advanced window technology, and airtightness.

UPI