PROJECT.

Stone Ridge Commons

Passive Pennsylvania

In the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where the skies are blue and the air is fresh, you can find affordable housing that achieves the standards of Passive House and EGC.


Problem

Woda Cooper Companies, Inc. partnered with Sol to help navigate the steep learning curve of the Passive House standard, and to earn both PHIUS+ and Enterprise Green Communities certifications.

To comply with Passive House requirements, the commissioning of the ventilation systems presented a particular challenge: every register in the project had to be within 10% of the airflow of the intended design.

The result is airtight, well-ventilated, and soundproof apartments, making each of the units comfortable, healthy, and quiet for residents.

Solution

Model trade-offs

Sol used design-stage modeling to balance performance and cost. For example, the project uses an uninsulated footing. Initially, this looks like a violation of the super-insulation principles of PHIUS, but it was a good use of a CPHC: our THERM and WUFI models showed the detail could work.


Partner to achieve Passive House

A partnership is more than just saying, "Sorry, you failed" when a project misses its testing targets or encounters problems. Instead, Sol collaborates closely with the entire team to ensure that the project gets to success.

Meet stringent airflow requirements

During the final commissioning of the ventilation systems, Sol ensured the system reached proper balance and functionality to achieve its performance, certification, and occupant comfort goals.



The Impact

PHUIS+ 2015 and EGC 2015 Certified


47%
REDUCTION IN ENERGY USE FROM HERS REFERENCE HOME

82%
REDUCTION IN ENVELOPE AIR LEAKAGE FROM IECC 2012 BASELINE

44%
REDUCTION IN INDOOR WATER USE

59%
DIVERSION OF CONSTRUCTION WASTE