Ohio’s first multifamily Passive House
Can affordable senior housing be built to the Passive House standard?
Problem
When Woda Cooper Companies, Inc. envisioned a LEED Platinum and Passive House certified affordable senior living development, the benefits were clear: reduced utility bills furthered the project’s affordability goals, and improved indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and acoustics were of elevated importance for the project’s elderly residents.
The central challenge was how to achieve the certifications—and the strict performance requirements that came with them—without breaking the project budget.
The project also came with unique building diagnostic challenges during construction, such as an out-of-balance energy recovery ventilation (ERV) system that was running up the energy meter. Tracking down these issues was critical for the project to attain its designed performance.
