How to Build a House That Uses 90% Less Energy!
Matt walks us through Passive House, which is a high-performance building standard developed to reduce building-related emissions. These buildings are super insulated (continuous, continuous, continuous!), have little to no thermal bridges, well insulated windows, are airtight, utilize an HRV/ERV, and have minimal conditioning systems. They are not only energy efficient, but crazy comfortable and healthy! Is there a better way to build?
Check out these links below as a good starting point for learning more about this standard.
A Practical Approach to Passive House - Steve Baczek, FineHomeBuilding
www.finehomebuilding.com/2012...
What is PAssive House - PHIUS
www.phius.org/what-is-passive...
What is a Passive House? - RockWool
www.rockwool.com/a/s/passive-...
Passive house construction: Everything you need to know - Barbara Eldredge, Curbed.com
www.curbed.com/2016/9/6/12583...
Changing the way we build our homes! - Robert Lynn, PacificPassiveHouse.com
pacificpassivehouse.com/
Positive Energy
positiveenergy.pro/
Canadian Passive House Video
• This 5000 sf Canadian ...
Boston Passive House designed by Steve Baczek: Top 10 Most Efficient Homes in America
• Top 10 Most Efficient ...
Matt’s new IR Camera in the Video: amzn.to/3jH4ObL
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www.Poly-Wall.com
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I built my house "Passive" 25 years ago, I have saved who knows how much money because of it, SO why did I not hear you talk about the sun and the orientation of the windows or thermal mass??? Our house uses the sun big windows face the low sun in winter. The opposite side has few windows and lots of brick for thermal storing hot and cold. Grape vines cover and shade the big windows in summer and I prune them right back to let in the sun for winter. In winter with any 60% sunny day we use ZERO hearing! For 20 years we had people asking us about air conditioning we did not have, On 95F days the house was 75F inside. We got a small A/C a few years back to knock off the edge of this.
I agree with you. I built my Tennessee mountain home 45 years ago to the then Canadian insulation standards and to take full advantage of passive solar features such as the proper sizing of roof overhands to shade south windows in the summer but allow full solar gain in the winter. My large windows are all on the South side with small windows on the North and east. I put all the central heat and air with duct work between the floors so the ducts would be in the conditioned air space. When the contractor installing my central unit, measured all my windows, doors, and insulation and plugged the numbers into his computer he could not believe the results. It showed my house only needed a 2-ton unit. He said he made a mistake and needed to recheck his figures. Then he rechecked his measurements. After the third time he finally told me that his computer program must be wrong. He said he had 17 years experience installing heat pumps and had never installed less than 6 tons for the number of square feet in my house especially with the amount of large glass windows it has. Conserving energy is always good. Besides having a more comfortable house without cold walls in the winter, I believe I was able to retire early because of all the money I saved on my power bills.
@@onebrightflash would it be a different standard for building a home in northern Arkansas/southern Missouri? Which direction should the windows face there?
@@its_garcia The standard is the same if you want free winter heat, most of your window area should face South, the lengh of the overhang is determined by the sun's height, your latitude & how long & hot your summer is. The weather is changeing. My house is designed to collect & hold the sun's heat. but now the hot season is longer & hotter than when I built in 1978 & there are no -10 F temps. Today, air tightness, good windows & doors & lots of insullation is whare you should put your money. I do love the view out of my big windows.
@@its_garcia The US is in the northern hemisphere so south facing windows will get the most sun in spring winter and fall. So if you use windows to heat your home the largest wondows should always be on the S. side of the house & you should provide decideous trees or window shades to prevent overheating in spring and fall. As temperatures rise due to climate change, you should consider a low enery LEED built home to reduce heating & cooling costs.
The weather is changing due to geoengineering and climate change is the reason they use to impose holodomour style conditions on the 99%. Check out weathermodificationhistory
I'm 60 years old now, but back when I was 23 we built a super insulated house. Two 2x4 walls separated 24 in on center each. The overall wall is 12 in thick filled with blown cellulose. Full vapor barrier on the warm side, that's what they instructed back in that day. R60 blown insulation in the ceiling. Lots of caulking and tape. The best Anderson Windows and doors we could get at the time. Our heating and cooling bill was almost non-existent. Back then you would have thought we were building Noah's ark based on the looks we were getting from contractors. Used the smallest AC and heating central system made, even that was overkill. It's a lot easier to save energy than to create it some way new.
I'm self building a very similar house right now, 12 inch thick double stud walls, dense pack cellulose, R 60 attic, triple pane windows. I get crazy looks when I explain it to people today. I can't imagine doing it 40 years ago!
Add some solar panels and you can be an energy producer- feed the grid! Depending on what state you live in the SRECs can help pay off your solar array quickly.@@joshdillingham1598
As a former Home Performance Contractor I have never heard such a thorough yet concise explanation of all these great building science principles.
Good video but Matt doesn't really cover the benefits of solar power. Look at the total cost vs. energy performance. My house produces 4,000 kWh more electricity than I use each year- and that includes powering two EVs. The Passive House concepts are great and I used them in building but don't forget the solar factor. 9.9kW solar array that is now cost positive after 9 years. So use some of these techniques- HRV, heat pump hot water heater, totally sealed envelope, R60 ceiling, R44 walls, R10 under the slab. So nice to have fresh air coming in with the HRV.
There was a passive house builder a county over from me that built a passive house for a MIT guy with every trick in the book applied to it. The MIT guy studied passive in Europe and had ideas of his own to try also. I got to talk with them both and tour the house under construction. That guy was planning on selling these type houses and nothing came of it. That was 15 years ago when energy was far cheaper. People would pay extra for a nicer kitchen ect vs energy efficiency . Things may change now.
Any ideas of his youre able to share?; did HE share any of these ideas, maybe published somewhere on a website
Great video! So very true. In 1998 my wife and I built a 2300 sf house. We either subbed or did everything ourselves. We were not really thinking at that time about efficiency but since we lived about 20 miles from the rockwool insulation plant in Leeds Alabama. Guess you see were this is going. My two sons live in that house now. I asked the oldest just the other day how much their power bill was and he said around $120 a month. The house is also pretty close to a very busy road and when your inside, you cannot hear the outside traffic. The rockwool plant at that time would charge maybe $40 for a dump truck load of insulation. My wife insulated the whole house mostly by herself cutting it with a bread knife.
At the university, we studied a project made from all wood construction. No materials for the structure was synthetic; the decking, siding and etc. was wood. The all wood construction was the most efficient home to build and the wood was a sound barrier. We were amazed because it was so quiet and very cool during the summer heat.
High School Physics - once I applied it saved me over $1000/year AND provided me with my most comfortable summer EVER in Phoenix. I used the principle of thermal mass to cool my house down to 70 degrees F. Then I shut down my refrigerated air conditioning during peak load hours (3PM to 8PM) using a programmable thermostat. My house never got above 80 degrees during that time. The cooling that I had stored in the walls, floors and ceilings the night before provided me with comfort during those blazing hot 112-117 Degree summers we are noted for. My summer bills dropped below $200/month from nearly $400. My house is block and stucco sitting on a slab foundation with a flat foam roof and double pane windows and sky lights. Another tip If your flat screen TV is warm to the touch and you live in southern climes - get ride of it. The new ones are far more efficient and the new one will pay for itself in a year.
Night time in Phoenix is 100 degrees in the summer.
Hi Matt. Thanks for the useful information about passive technologies, but I’m surprised you didn’t mention the importance of solar considerations. Proper building orientation and window placement to capture the sun’s energy in colder months and minimize heat gain in warmer months costs nearly nothing.
Yup we built our house that way 1 year ago. It has been going on for ages
Next I'd like to see you do a video on how you could apply similar techniques to a remodel: interior only, exterior only, or both.
bhami ... many times older homes are tightened up on the outside s part of an update where new windows and siding are part of the plan anyway. They just add several inches of foam insulation before the finishing materials. That's typically good for a 50% reduction in heating / cooling bills.... and the house is worth more at resale.
I'm beginning a major remodel of a 2-story + basement true brick (3 brick layer deep walls) house from the 1890s soon. Would love ideas on interior insulation that allows the brick to breathe (dry out) and stay healthy while sealing the inside. Unfortunately exterior insulation isn't practical here.
I agree I would like to see if there is a way to retro fit those techniques in an existing home
@@damianrico2433 The biggest issues you are likely to face on an older home are going to be the compromises you are willing to make with original details to gain efficiency. Replacement windows or at least retrofit storm sashes are a must, along with finding and sealing all air leaks, especially with (probably) a rock foundation. I went through my 1910 home, which was in rough shape, added insulation, sealed drafts, new doors and windows. I kept the outside flavor using 1 over 1 style double hung in double glaze / high E then finished the trim outside with 5/4" x 5" wide board. From the street all you notice is the full screen. Old homes had full screen anyway but wooden frames. During the renovations I also updated the heating system, all electrical, and eventually added central AC. Inside, I had to do away with the old plaster walls so more insulation, sheetrock, and new trim. Doing the inside myself cost around $1,000 a room over a few years. All of the exterior, including new doors and windows, professionally installed was close to $14k. The updated heat was figured into the other costs. (hot water BB) The central AC was additional cost. ($4K?) I did place the equipment and run the ducts myself to shave a bit off. Also did my own wiring and plumbing. (I'm in those trades) I basically cut my heating bill in half.
@@nashdashflash Hint: you will not get good, comprehensive information on this channel. Go to Building Science Corp website, and do the work to review their extensive list of published research/ white papers/ etc. I am not going to do all your homework for you, but I will tell you they have some really excellent material on deep-energy retrofits for existing masonry structures. In some climates, doing the wrong things can destroy an old masonry structure quite rapidly. Moisture management is CRITICAL. Research and read to understand why. I have done a limited amount of this sort of work, and one must approach with all due care. The biggest issue is setting the goalposts for an optimum set of compromises between immediate energy/ comfort performance and long-term durability.
I am in Northern Illinois and when I watch them build a new home they never add exterior insulation to the house or the basement. Those are such easy cost effective ways to improve the building envelope. We get crazy cold here and crazy hot. You want a well insulated house.
Agreed, needs to be required by the energy code.
I'm in the same area and your right. Try to get a contractor that builds beyond minimum code is like pulling teeth. Several subdivisions your stuck with the builder for that subdivision and most won't be bothered as it's something new to them and out of there comfort zone.
Matt, when you get to the end, can you do a video to go over how much this house would cost to a new client as a turn 🔑 house without any sponsors.
You should do a video that goes along with this one, doing cost analysis how much the old house costed to heat and cool over its life span of 50 years, versus how much it would have costed if it was built to passive standard considering that solar panels weren't a thing back then or efficient later on, to show how much money better built houses can save.
I live in Flanders (Europe), I built my house in 2011 with this air pump heat recovery system. It is fantastic! It gives a very nice climate in the house.
Lucht of bodem warmtepomp?
Hi Matt. I see that technology has improved over the years. Back in 1985 I was living in Edmonton Alberta Canada where the winters can be bitter. I had a four-level split built to the R2000 standard, which was the best standard at the time. It had a lot of the passive items that you mentioned. The insulation values were R60 in the ceiling, R40 in the walls and R20 on all walls below grade. What I noticed when looking at the show homes, most had two furnaces, one furnace for the bedrooms which was 100,000 BTU and another furnace for the rest of the house 150,000 BTU. My house had a 50,000 BTU furnace. In the summer, the house was a lot cooler than outside, and I was asked many times if the house was air conditioned. We need to keep improving on how houses and buildings in general are built. Keep up the good work.
Great video Matt! The “concept” of a passive house was actually developed in Saskatchewan, Canada in the 1970s. Unfortunately, the aesthetics were a little rudimentary, and so the concept was not adopted by Canadians at the time. German engineers visited the “Saskatchewan Conservation House” and took the concept back to Germany where they developed it into what we now know as passive house.
More on your new house build please! Love seeing it develop!
Could you make a video break down on the cost benefit of all this extra money you're spending... How long do you see a return on your investment? How does it compare to a traditional house and cost?
I would like to see this too. I get it might be better for the environment, but if the payback is 25-30 years what's the point.
I have done Passive House for less than $200 sq/ft
Return on investment hey? Think about how terrible it is to sit in sweat. To be itchy and not enjoying your house because you have to be in the basement... There's your return on investment.
@@smersh007 It's a nicer, healthier environment to live in.
The other factor which gets overlooked is the extra materials used on these properties. If you're doing it for the environmental benefits, you've got to be honest about the embodied energy of the extra framing, insulation, plastic, etc, used to meet Passive House standards.
As long as the air quality is ensured and being airtight does not translate to mold and mildew. Passive houses are the new build standard in the part of Europe where I live. They are great when built right to avoid mold and mildew. In our part of Europe the continuous insulation goes over masonry which is then covered by brick. In contrast, the 70s era house I rent is very poorly insulated over all and has huge thermal bridges built in (for example, stone sills that go from outside the house to the inside - you could store butter on them in the winter). I rented a 100+ year old farm house here before this 70s era house and the 70s era one is about as bad as the 100 year old in terms of insulation. Passive house concepts are a huge leap forward.
Incredible! I could watch these videos all day. Thanks for the great info.
I'm glad this standard exists. Now I have an even better idea of why I _definitely_ prefer natural building techniques.
+1 on the windows winter/summer. I've found that reflective film is more important than adding that third glass layer. Bounce the summer heat back out and bounce the winter heat back in. I've used Gila Heat Control Platinum. Matt, I'm sure you have access to better materials.
Great video and informations ! Just a note about the Infrared camera that isn't a good tool to measure heat loss near windows. As it's mostly transparent to IR you will have trouble finding the right emissivity and measure the temperature of the glass. And even harder to get to heat loss. But putting a black opaque surface on your window will allow you to have a good idea of the temperature gradient at that point though.
Matt, thanks for all your videos. You add a ton value to all your followers.
Love watching your videos.. as a builder i get so many different ideas from your videos how to build better. Keep posting please!!
Best building info on the internet. Period! Thanks Matt
Love to see you talk about a fresh air system on this house including humidity management.
Outstanding timing. I've been watching your videos for about a year but I spent 6 hours researching passiv house standards yesterday. Really interested in this concept.
Great Video Matt! Your videos have been extremely informational. Can't thank you enough.
Nice Video Matt. We have covered quite a few of these homes, and they are dynamite.
Nice video. I wanted to implement some of the passive haus standards on my build over 10 years ago now but there just wasn't much knowledge here about it at the time. Nice to see it's catching on and more efficient buildings are coming along. I'd love to do a sort of fusion of the best of passive haus along with a more earth based & solar build like earthship or rammed earth.
Loving watching these videos again. I remember when they came out, I would love to build my own home.
Thanks for making this detailed information accessible.
Its amazing how much you can save. I have a house built in the 70 in Eastern Canada that I have been slowly working at. Air sealing to 1 ACH50, foam on the house, R60 in the attic with triple pane windows. Completely heated with heat pumps even during the winter, has cut my energy consumption by 60% and CO2 emission by almost 80%.
Why is cutting the CO2 emission important? The ocean will eat all surplus CO2 anyway. The ocean has dealt with volcanos for billion of years, and it is still doing fine.
@@elbuggo Because now that the EPA has mandated that semi trucks get way worse fuel mileage due to all of the useless required emissions systems resulting in increased CO2 truck emissions, others have to cut their CO2 emissions to make up the difference. (Bad) government: fixing it until it's broken. Have a nice day.
But have you recouped the cost of the sealing, foam, and triple pane windows? Sometimes spending a small fortune to save on your energy bill is not that wise. Sometimes.
@Steve Slade truer words have never been spoken. Passiv Haus is still a waste of money. To wit- a code minimum house with solar panels will cost less and save more monthly than a passiv Haus with no solar pv
@@elbuggo that's a myth
Amazing video. We need more retrofit insulation videos for cold climates
Thank you for creating this content for those living in the South! The only comparable content in my opinion has been This Old House & Ask This Old House, but they seem to cater more towards those in the North and Northeast based on where they originated. The only thing one can can really do is teach what you know. Keep up the great work and continue posting this content! I'm not a builder. I'm just a nerd homeowner from Oklahoma that's been a South/East coast homeowner since 2009.
thanks matt, i appreciate your intelligence and integrity.
Thanks for continuing to be an advocate for quality! I’d love for you to talk about why you went with Jeldwin windows on your home and also the specs of those which contribute to heat gain and air sealing.
He went with Jeldwin because that's who paid him. I use mostly Jeldwin because they are cheap and not bad quality. When I replace the windows in my own home it will probably be either Pella or Anderson because they are better. He probably used premium Jeldwin so I'm sure they're fine but they are known as contractor grade windows. Definitely not the best.
As always good video. I am a home handyman, mechanic, do it yourselfer kind of a guy and I am such a geek for building tech. I am 62 and retiring in a few years. Building tech has gotten so cool in the last 20 years I wish I had chosen to go into the home building trade. Keep up the good work!👍 David L Lamberson, FS1, USCG, ret.
Thank you for bringing this up. I want this to be the new norm. Keep it up man.
Hey, Matt! Love your channel and what you do, brother 🙌 I'm currently planning my 1st custom home build. I am hooked on the idea of passageways around the perimeter of the structure as much as possible, and even some branching into the interior. This is, in my mind, a great way to maximize any and all maintenance or upgrade requirements moving forward, as well as access to a bunker/storm shelter.
This is the future! Great job.
I would have never known about passive houses or heat pump water heaters if this show didn’t exist. Thanks Matt!
👍🏻
Congratulations. These are the important topics: Healthy, comfortable, durable - these are the key goals. And the efficiency comes with it. Good success - please report again when you have experience from the first winter and summer.
Great information! I have learned so much from this channel.
Great content Matt! I have been researching passive house standard and this video is so informative. Please keep updating as you progress and show the final results on energy efficiency. Btw first 3 links didn’t work for me.
Thank you for discussing how you get the fresh air into the house. This has been one of the confusing items for me around building to high air tightness
I know they sell HRV in the northern states at big box stores (free shipping usually). I have one and I have it turn on 3 times per day for 1.5 hours each time. It is good, I wish I would have bought one that has less ventilation (only 60 cfm) and keep it running all the time but they said for my size house I need a much larger unit but then the heat pump runs a lot more.
Very interesting video. Thanks Matt, I learned a lot!
Matt I love watching your videos! You have inspired me to be a better project manager.
Hey Matt, I'd love to see some content on what the techniques and effort would be to apply the perfect wall system and passive house principles to a renovation project with a traditionally vented roof and eave system. Possibilities for converting existing rafters and joists to monopoly framing and whether it would be worth it. Thanks!
Matt if you take and put bi facial solar panels on those metal frames it will look really cool.. give you great shading similar to using a colored poly panel. Plus you can have a little solar to run all your exterior landscape and sconce lighting.
We built a ranch in Iowa 2 yrs ago. Applied lots of your tips into the build. Out in the open, top of hill..yep lots of wind! Added metal roof, and built our own solar. Lots of work, but so much cheaper than our older, smaller ranch. Thanks for the tips!!
Great concept. I want to make my next house that way. Last year, I saw a video of a 100+ year old in Montreal upgraded to passive house standard. So, even old houses can be upgraded. A usual passive house has double walls with 30 cm of insulation and 50 cm in the ceiling. Of course the air exchanger is key to that air tight system. In northern climates, you want big windows to heat up your house in winter, whereas in the south, you want small windows to keep the heat out. I hope more people aim for that standard, we can't keep burning fossil fuels wastefully as we have in the past.
Love this video! When my home was built, I also insulated the inside walls. The advantages were; better inter-room acoustics and less transfer of heat/cool to unused rooms.
And if you use a woodstove, not good.
@@BigBirdy100 wood stoves are very polluting
We just did a blower door test on my almost-a-passivhaus, 0.45ACH :)
Matt, absolutely love your channel. There is such a wealth of knowledge and information and beautiful presentation. I also love how you seek out and share the latest and greatest technology and pass it on to your viewers. My wife and I reside just outside of Savannah, Georgia in a small apple pie and blue ribbon Town. A town that resembles how America used to be in the golden era of the 1950's. I am in my late 40's and my wife in her early 40's....we just recently had our first child (daughter - 10 months old) and have purchased 10 acres of land that contains 50 to 70 year old pine growth. We are in the process of smartly clearing out some of the trees for a long winding driveway that will lead to a build site under the pine and Magnolia tree canopy. We are going for more of an estate feel rather than just building a home on a 1/4 acre build site. We call it our own botanical gardens in the forest......native wild flowers and vegetation lining the driveway as you approach the home, a thinned out and healthy forest floor to attract wildlife and a home that seamlessly builds a partnership with the land and surrounding environment. To achieve all of this, we are intending to hire Mrs Jane Frederick of Frederick and Frederick Architechts and the current President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). She and her team are located in the Hilton Head / Beaufort, South Carolina region just across the border from us and they specialize in building luxury homes in hot and humid climates like we have here in the low country (Southeastern. Georgia). My question to you is this.....we are seeking to build the most advanced home to date when it comes to energy efficiency, acoustics or sound dampening technology, solar technology, advanced electrical and wiring grid and air quality. I would love your input on product lines and or new cutting edge technology that the public may not be aware of. Also, what windows would you recommend? We are not worried about cost and are looking for the highest of high end windows that can take on this ruthless Georgia sun and beat it. We would love to pick your brain and hear your ideas. Thank you for this outstanding channel and the wonderful content you put out. Keep up the great work sir!
wow this video speaks on how i want my home built.. less bug great heat and cool air exchange
“Gee wiz two by fours”. Classic Matt! Lol Great video. Thank you.
Thanks Chris!
@@buildshow Are you going todo Aero Barrier on your new House? I know you said you were really going for a low ACH50 Score?
@@SgtSnipey Is Aero Barrier a new state of the art external wrap? Or are there better ones like Tyvek or something else?
@@thisismagacountry1318 It's basically aerosolized chalk that they mist in all over the house, To seal leaks in the home, Reall cool product, Matts Video on it: kzhead.info/sun/i9SNlNaOfIWnfZ8/bejne.html
I keep hearing you talk about the same stuff for the most part, over and over. And I can't get enough! We need more smart building tech fundamentally. Keep on uploading!
That's because it's Building Science not rocket science - building a GREAT house is adherence to a few basic principles....most of which are not chosen to be understood.
@@stevenbaczekarchitect9431 Steve, I'm curious why you don't upload stuff on your channel? (I've been thoroughly enjoying your content on the build show network.)
@@wjthehomebuilder My man,First I'm a planner - I need to make sure when I do it - it's right. I also have a full time 80 hr a week job lol. And my dogs remind me it's time to play now and then. Good things coming your way in the future, unfortunately good things take time.....find me on instagram @stevenbaczekarchitect or my daughter @alexandrabaczek we post good stuff daily...I greatly appreciate your patience
@@wjthehomebuilder BTW thank you very much for the support on the Build Show Network!! We need to share, and we need to support each other, and I personally thank you for the support...Long Live Our Buildings
@@stevenbaczekarchitect9431 Yes we do. It feels like an up hill battle most of the time!
Hi Matt, great exppainer video, love your channel. I think it would be worth to mention one of the most important principles of pasive house design. In my opinion this is the orientation of the building. Maening that you set out your house so that large glazing faces south to enable solar heat gains. And in order to minimise these gains during hot periods you could also plan to design a balcony that shades the glazing or a large tree that limits the amount of heat coming through the summer. The same tree allows the sun to go inside during winter once the leaves fall down. The U value pf your windows is quite high . In my house whichI build now all of the windows have U value below 0.9. Which is getting as a standard on all tripple glazed windows in Europe. Keep up the good job, looking forward to seeing more videos.
I wish you had spoken of an insulated slab as this is the spot where your heat is lost more than anywhere else during the winter. Well worth the little extra. Good job sir
I must comment on several comments below. Please DO NOT oversize your windows to pick up more winter-time solar gain in your super-insulated home. We did and we're sorry we did. We followed passive solar guidelines (square feet of south-facing glass per square foot of floor) and although the home performs well at minus 40C (triple-glazed windows) it overheats in the summer if we reach 30C or more. If I had to do it over again I'd reduce that glass area. Overall, we're very happy with the place (R36 floor, R48 walls, R68 ceiling) but as in all unique designs, there are things that could have been done better. Live and learn.
I’m currently looking into this as I’m someone who prefers lots of natural lighting in the home but I’d really like it if they didn’t compromise the efficiency of the build to standard - what is the alternative to, say, picture windows or bifolding doors? Or even a skylight/ sky well? How do I get natural light into the home without big/ multiple windows??
You don't. If you do big windows, they need covering in Summer. Either large deciduous trees, eves that cover them when the sun angle is High, or window shades. Roll downs or people even use grape vines etc to cover during summer.
My house is passive aggressive.
🤣
You should ask it to marry you.
😆 brilliant! Mine must be too with the number of times it's tried to injure me 🤕
Bruh, you almost made me spit my coffee! The comment I was not prepared for
Ok, you funny.
Nice video's Matt been following for the last 2 years, I'm originally from the flanders in Belgium. Currently am a sparky in new zealand and housing here are shocking to see (even the new build) Really respect you, trying to get all that knowledge out there for better building, this is the future. Sadly its all so expensive, they should promote energy efficiency buildings. Don't let the bad comments get to you, know you get sponsored by some products, but as you said in one of the videos (long time ago) there are other good products out there! Keep up the good work! Cheers!
This was really useful, thank you Matt
@Matt Risinger, there appears to be a missing joist hanger in the upper right of the frame at 15:10. Is this intentional? Thank you for providing a clean, educational show that the whole family including young kids can enjoy!
Man I love this channel! I always learn something new and practical and the way you present things is very easy to watch without losing interest! Thanks for doing this!
Very nice work, Matt!
Thanks Matt, great video and even better information ! ! ! ! ! ! !
thats pretty cool youre helping demolition ranch dude with his abandoned mansion.
Small house with no basement. Lol
They're both trying to get more youtube views with clickbait titles. I doubt anybody is simply "helping". If he showed up to a normal size house to help you fix the roof on his day off when he forgot the camera...that would be "help".
Demolition ranch guy seems like an idiot .
@@dneuman7455 They both seem like pretty intelligent people. Oh, the Demolition Ranch guy is a veterinarian. Harder to get into vet school than med school.
@@mattwilliams8144 Always wondered what his day job was.
Great video. But I wanted to point out that more windows don't necessarily mean less efficient. Example: "Underground houses" If you build it facing south, bury the back and sides of the house in dirt (thermal mass, stays at the year-average temperature) and put a glass facade in such a way that most of the winter sun hits that backwall on sunny days, this light can heat your house up good. Of course, you should still look for a low U-factor and so on. But it all depends on how you use those windows. As long there is some sunshine and you have a means to store that energy (that thick wall in the back), you can use it for heating too. At least thats how ive understood this. Correct me if I'm wrong
Great stuff, thanks for sharing.
I also live in a Hot Humid climate in NC and when I renovated my 60's Brick home, it had no wall insulation when I gutted the home so I did the poor-man's spray-foam technique by using 2" owens pink foam board and foam spray cans to fill the wall cavatie's. Nothing like you are doing but this channel inspired me to experiment. My little house is doing a much better job keeping cool. Unfortunately I still suffer from thermal bridging.
Another goldmine of essential knowledge for better building. Thanks for your generosity all these years, Matt & Co. God bless y'all.
Texans did not see this yearly 2021 winter storming coming, how did the house fare in this year winter temperature drop ?
Love what this channel brings
Learned so much. Thanks
Can you talk about those metal/glass window awnings. Look really nice, I'd love to do something similar for my home where lots of water sheds on an east facing window
Building with ICF as the base structure would seem to be the ideal way to build a passive house design. The wood frame structure requires many steps to seal possible air leakage points, for instance, that are inherently sealed with ICF construction. Thermal efficiency, sound insulation, wind and fire ratings are also improved with ICF construction.
Am I the only woman that enjoys watching these videos for educational purposes only? I’m not a construction worker/architect/designer or anything of that nature. I just like to know how houses are built and how to do things myself. I like woodworking and building my own things but I feel that’s rare for a woman especially where I live! Maybe one day I’ll be able to build my own home (with help of course) but for now I enjoy picking up the knowledge that Matt puts down. Thanks Matt! ✌️
I never got into building and renovating until I met my wife. She does most of the drywalling and plumbing. Currently we are building a small cabin along the Missouri River and are having the best time of our lives. She told me once the best way for gal to meet a handy guy is to hang out at Home Depot.
Craig S well then to Home Depot I go, haha just kidding. Enjoy your build; it sounds beautiful
@@MissAngela007 wild, wonderful of grid kzhead.info/sun/ddKykaaInJeBdKc/bejne.html
Great episode, It’s very inspiring! Thanks!
Everyone harps on being "too tight," then forgets about the fresh air systems which ALWAYS go hand in hand!
"my house isn't too tight, because I have a fan running 24-7 to bring air in." yeah, still not buying the logic.
@@kenbrown2808 You bring in the air from outside and before blowing out the inside air it goes through a heatexchanger. You get fresh air without loosing the heat/cold you put in. The Fan uses allot less energy then the AC/heater
Ken Brown It’s not Voodoo magic it’s science. Take a moment to learn about it before engaging mouth and keyboard these things are facts and they are and should be the next way to build anything it’s insane how much energy we throw away and money. In Europe you can’t build this kind of crap to traditionally especially in some countries. The shit we build in the United States is hideous,
@@TheM479 yes, I know how they work. that's how I know the blower is running 24/7.
@@shockingguy I remember when tyvek was the next way to build houses. now tyvek is a swear word in my area. I remember when CPVC was the next way to plumb houses. now CPVC is a swear word. PEX, has done okay, so far. techno housewraps seem to be back. drain weave has gone from something the good builders put over their tar paper to something that is required on all houses where I am.
Matt, I would like to know more about the ERV/HRV run times. Does it run continuously? Does it only run when your HVAC system is running? Or is it schedule/timer driven? Also, what is the CPM, and is it variable? One last thing, you have not addressed “Makeup Air”. How do you manage the bathroom exhaust fan, kitchen exhaust hood and your clothes dryer? Do they all tie into the ERV/HRV?
i have build houses like this for years in europe(estonia, sweden, finland)...and your friend steve tolds all that what we have use/done meny years... i thoguht long time ago..when americans will start building like that!... And now you have made it. AWESOME
Excellent video .... very informative .... thanks!
Goals for my next house. I’m in TX. Way too damn hot !
Need to show the finished product working with thermal imaging
Thank you! GREAT information!
Great information. Thank you
Next question. How much more on average does a PHIUS house cost to build compared to conventional building?
I have no numbers, but all the design work doesn't have to be billed to each house, it can be part of the prefab design for a house building company that did it before selling house projects.
You should mention that when framing your house you need to ensure your kiln dried wood is in fact bone dry before sealing both the inside and outside as you describe, because if you don’t , that moisture trapped in all your wood will come out over time, and being that you have sealed inside and outside it will manifest inside your walls creating mold mildew and eventually rot. In the different seasons that moisture will travel internally up and down your walls rotting from ceiling to floor . I know this because I am a 30 yr leaky condo and house expert
How is the process to 'bone dry'?
Love your videos with good information. I live in Hawaii where electricity is 37 cents/kWh. I installed solar panels, powerwall battery storage and an EV car. I save $600/month on gas and home electricity. Plus I have power with power outages and sell extra energy to the Grid.
Aloha!! - that's awesome. I live in Aiea Heights for 3 years
Agreed, tiny house and electric car here too! 👏🏽
DEFINITELY GIVING ME IDEAS FOR OUR NEW HOUSE !!!
It's probably a bit unaffordable for me to build to this level, but I hope to use a few of these solutions on my new house.
Exactly the attitude when watching these viedos. They are a compilation of ALOT of ideas, put the ones you can to work for you!! Great Comment!!!
I would love for you to design and build an earthship style house. I think the earthship folks have all the right ideas, but often they don't choose the materials and technology you do.
Earthship is a bit of a cult and they use massively polluting propane to heat. These are much wiser.
Excellent information, in the 1980s I rented 4000 Square feet of a old woollen mill. It was a basement and it was cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Pretty much like a cave, we used little heat in the winter to make that area cozy. Your house will be brilliant in avoiding the extremes in temperatures. I would love to build from new, land with building permission in the UK 🇬🇧 is expensive and hard to aquire.
I would like to see a video on what could be done to improve a older home that was done to normal contractor grade standards. What would you do to improve said house first, second, etc.? Thanks for all the education you provide.
I want you building my next house!
Hope you have more money then you know what to do with
I have worked for a passive house builder in Australia, sensible designed smaller houses at this standard is achievable.
What's stopping you?
@@mattychamberlin Like everything else, the cost of a new standard will come down, after first adopters pay for the first round. Matt Risinger is leading the way, and showing me what I need to know for the houses I hope my kids own someday. I want to be there for them ;) Admittedly, it's easier to be energy efficient in California than in Texas, as we can leave the windows open most of the time. Unfortunately, most SoCal homeowners have 60s, 70s homes (or older homes that have been retrofitted to 20th Century standards of energy efficiency) and they pay exorbitant electrical rates for air-conditioner-hungry domiciles. The typical answer is to pile solar panels on the roof; i.e., to address the SUPPLY side; to feed the beast. Passive standards address the DEMAND side, to tame the beast.
@@paulsouth4794 Do you have a link to some of the builder's smaller house builds?
“It’s gonna be a very quiet house” ha ha not with 4 kids in the house 😆
Haha. I have r28 walls. Silence...until the kids bedroom window opens!
It won't be air tight either with kids going in and out the front door.
@@cward1954 just need a revolver. A door that is.
Yeah as soon as you deaden outside sounds, everything gets bigged up on the inside. In the UK we have properties that are butt up against each other. I can hear my neighbour coughing in bed, and his alarm clock at 4.30 a.m. That's no fun.
@@mrdespondency6598 that sounds like an absence of sound bariers rather than an excess of exterior insulation.
Awesome stuff Matt! 😃👍🏻👊🏻 ... I would love to have a passive house one day, hopefully when I retire and get out of New York! 🤞🏻🤞🏻