This presentation was recorded on October 8th, 2019 for the Passive House Rocky Mountian monthly online roundtable, a regular event typically on the first Tuesday featuring a wide range of speakers and topics related to Passive House and low carbon buildings. The goal of Zero Carbon Multifamily starts with Passive House Tim McDonald is the President and…
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Original Story Published On Forbes by Sheri Koones It is estimated that 40 percent of the United States energy consumption is used for heating and cooling buildings as well as 75 percent of the electricity. One of our main concerns in building a house should be in building a structure that requires minimal energy, rather…
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Closer analysis of total cost leads to the ultimate concept of “total value” in home building After working a variety of construction jobs and for a large commercial lumber dealer in my youth, I cut my teeth after college at U.S. Steel, then Motorola—low-tech and high-tech manufacturing, respectively. I truly saw the good, the bad,…
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Most builders and component suppliers do a marginal job of calculating true, fully loaded, total cost when comparing various methods. It’s time to remedy that The articles, columns, seminars, and social media posts describing how off-site construction methods will revolutionize home building continue unabated. With labor shortages once again polling near the top of home builder concerns,…
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There are at least 20 amazing benefits to owning and living in a zero energy home. We call this the Zero Energy Advantage. Original Story by: Zero Energy Project
Architect Laura Nettleton is standing in a former classroom in a 120-year-old elementary school that she helped turn into one of the most energy-efficient apartment buildings in Pittsburgh. She is talking, metaphorically, about coats. Her coat — stylish and black with wide sleeves and an open collar — is the old way of building: thinly…
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In the film Field of Dreams, farmer Ray Kinsella has a vision that compels him to build a baseball field in the middle of a corn patch. Chris Lee had a similar vision – to build a house in the middle of his corn field for himself and his wife, Judy. Several years ago, the…
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4 Undeniable Benefits of Offsite Construction It takes an average of four to six months to build the typical new construction home and in the homebuilding business, time is money. Complicating the issue for most builders is a shortage of skilled tradespeople, including framing carpenters, the constraints of weather-related delays, and countless other risks associated with construction…
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Factory-made components are helping builders achieve passive levels of performance. These days, it’s not uncommon for builders to construct homes from panels. They provide an attractive combination of customization, factory quality control, and reduced construction time—at a point when the industry is facing a nationwide shortage of skilled labor. All these benefits make panelization ideal…
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