Avon building firm Wolfworks Inc. has completed construction of Connecticut’s first passive house in Harwinton, a standard used to show extreme energy efficiency.
The home is designed to capture the free energy provided by the sun, the people, and the equipment in the building while minimizing loss of energy to internal and external forces.
The features include insulation to assure a draft-free interior, detailing to prevent energy transfers through building materials, air-tight construction, windows tilted to gain more energy than they lose, and a ventilation system that recovers heat from balanced air flow. With a solar array used to generate electricity, the structure is a zero-net energy home.
The home is the first in Connecticut to be certified by the International Passive House Institute, which has assigned similar designation to thousands of homes in Europe.
The features of the passive home increase construction costs 5 percent but generate net income of $380 per year with predicted annual energy saving of $5,652 over a standard home.
