Prefabricated Passive Homes Will Come to North America

June 28, 2016 | Comments

There are now more options for buyers looking into passive housing as there are plans underway to make them available in prefabricated units in North America.

Passive housing is among the most stringent of green building standards. The concept is that a house is able to provide all the necessary thermal comforts with minimum energy consumption. The criteria for these houses demand exceptionally high insulative properties so that much less energy is required to maintain the internal temperature.

A 90-second video from the Ecocor website explains what passive housing is. (Video courtesy of Hans-Jörn Eich.)

Passive housing is gaining traction among buyers across the world, but it is still an anomaly in North America. Prefabricated housing is also relatively unpopular in the West, while in other countries like Sweden, 90 percent of homes are built from pre-manufactured components.

 

Pre-fabricated Construction Combined with Energy Efficiency

A joint effort by Ecocor and Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA) will essentially combine the convenience of prefabricated housing with the energy-saving benefits of passive housing standards. Ecocor states that it is the first company in North America solely dedicated to manufacturing prefabricated passive houses. It is also the only North American company to have opaque prefabricated building components certified by the Passive House Institute (PHI).

s5r_o8idco

Prefabricated houses are constructed in a much different way than traditional housing. (Image courtesy of Ecocor.)

Prefabricated housing unit designs are ideal for buyers who need their homes built in a short time frame, as they can be completed much more quickly than conventional housing.

Essentially, the panelized walls, floors and other materials are manufactured in a controlled environment. They are then transported and assembled on site, but not before an expert has evaluated the site and the parts to see if they are suitable for passive house building.

Ecocor manufactures its parts in a 14,000-square-foot panelizing shop, where workers fabricate the building components using semi-automated equipment.

“Richard Pedranti and I are looking to establish industry best practices for delivering beautiful certified Passive Homes in the United States,” said Chris Corson, founder and technical director at Ecocor. “RPA’s designs combined with Ecocor’s state-of-the-art equipment and proven processes allow us to deliver the highest quality energy-efficient homes available domestically.”

 

Houses Come in Several Models and Can Be Customized

RPA will act as the architect to design the passive house models that Ecocor will offer. This will begin with 11 types of passive house models, ranging from a 323-square-foot cabin with one bedroom to a 2,685-square-foot home with three to four bedrooms.

RPA also uses building information modelling (BIM) plans that are capable of integrating directly into the manufacturing software. This easy transfer of building information to constructed material will allow buyers to customize a model home to their specific requirements.

Ecocor and RPA plan to collaborate on every stage of the project. The ultimate goal is to offer passive houses that are certified by both the PHI and the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS).

“It is a pleasure to see that rigorous prefab passive house efforts are now advancing in North America. There are only advantages in the delivery of energy-efficient housing–Ecocor being at the forefront of this evolution in sustainable living for North America,” said Wolfgang Feist, founder and director of the PHI.

Follow

Subscribe to CADdigest Weekly