TE Studio Passive House Design: Bright Haus #2 "Howell" Passive House Plus

Overview of the construction of Bright Haus #2 "Howell" including assemblies and Passive House specifications.

1. © TE Studio, Ltd.
Bright Haus #2: Howell
2022-2024

2. This is a
Passive House
comfort, resilience, durability, filtered air,
low ownership cost and environmental impact
passivehouse.com
passivehousenetwork.org
passivehouseminnesota.org
Passive
House
Windows
and Doors
Super
Insulation
Airtight
Construction
Filtered
Ventilation
with Heat-
Recovery
Thermal
Bridge-Free
Design
Five Principles
Certificate
Client Ian Dees and Dr. Kyle Bantz
793 N Howell St.
55104 Saint Paul, USA
TE Studio, Ltd.
3406 Benjamin St. NE
55418 Minneapolis, USA
Building TE Studio, Ltd.
Services 3406 Benjamin St. NE
55418 Minneapolis, USA
Energy TE Studio, Ltd.
55418 Minneapolis, USA
This building
Alternative
criteria
Heating
[kWh/(m²a)] 15 ≤-
[W/m²] 16 ≤10
Cooling
[kWh/(m²a)] 3 ≤16
[W/m²] 7 ≤10
[%] 5 ≤
Airtightness
Pressurization test result(n
50) [1/h] 0,4 ≤
Renewable primary energy (PER)
[kWh/(m²a)] 37 ≤37
[kWh/(m²a)] 91 ≥48
Weitnau
Certifier: Florian Lang - Raphaël Vibert, Herz & Lang GmbH
www.passivehouse.com 46362_HUL_PH_20241219_RV
20.12.2024
The associated certification booklet contains more characteristic values for this building.
Building quality
Heating demand
Heating load
Cooling + dehumidification demand
Cooling load
PER-demand
Generation (reference to ground area) 60
Criteria
15
Authorised
by:
Certified Passive House Plus
Dees-Bantz Residence
793 N Howell St., 55104 Saint Paul, USA
3406 Benjamin St. NE
Dr. Wolfgang Feist
64283 Darmstadt
Germany
Architect
Herz & Lang GmbH
Die Planer für energieeffizientes Bauen
Ritzensonnenhalb 5a
87480 Weitnau, Germany
0,6
10
45
Passive House buildings offer excellent thermal comfort and very good air quality all year round. Due to their high
energy efficiency, energy costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions are extremely low.
The design of the above-mentioned building meets the criteria defined by
the Passive House Institute for the 'Passive House Plus' standard:
Consultant
Frequency of excessively high humidity
-
-
16

12. Before

13. Fall 2023

17. 4"
4"
10"
FTG. TYP.
3'-4"
STEM WALL, V.I.F.
3"2" CLEAR
3" CLEAR
MIN. 6"
7/8"
4"2"
11 1/4"
ICF 4"6 3/4"
LAP SOIL GAS BARRIER UP AND OVER STEM WALL, TAPE
TO EXTERIOR WALL SHEATHINGSLOPE ADJACENT SURFACE
AWAY FROM BUILDING MIN.
1/4" PER 1'-0"
WRB CONNECTION:
LAP ROOFING WRB UP AND
OVER PARAPET WALL AND
CONNECT WITH EXTERIOR
WALL WRB
AIRTIGHT CONNECTION
& WEATHER BARRIER
CONTINUOUS SILL-SEAL AND
CAPILLARY BREAK AT BOTTOM
PLATE
LEVEL, COMPACTED BASE
PER STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
INSULATION @ RIM
GRADE I BATT, OR NET AND DENSE-PACK,
MATCH, OR EXCEED WALL R-VALUE,
TYP. ALL FOUR SIDES
#4 @ 48" O.C.
6X6 - W1.4 X W1.4 W.W.F.
2X8 CONT. PLATE
1/2" DIA. ANCHOR BOLT
(+ HOOK) @ 48" O.C.
EMBED 7" INTO CONC.
#4 @ 48" O.C.
8" HORIZ.
3'-0" VERT.
#4 CONT. TOP & BOT.
TYP. GRAVEL STRIP
(2) #4 CONT.
CONTINUOUSLY COVER FOOTING WITH MIN. 2" EPS
FOAM INSULATION, FOAM GAPS
6" CONCRETE STEM WALL
TYPICAL CONCRETE SLAB, R-38
> INTERIOR
- 3/8" SCHEDULED FLOATING FLOORING
- 4" CONCRETE SLAB, LEVEL, SMOOTH ARCHITECTURAL FINISH
- SCHEDULED SOIL GAS BARRIER
SOIL GAS, AIR AND VAPOR BARRIER,
WEATHER RESISTANT BARRIER
SEAL JOINTS, CONNECTIONS AND PROTRUSIONS AIRTIGHT
- 10" EPS FOAM BOARD
INSULATION
- MIN. 4" COMPACTED AND LEVEL BASE AND RADON LAYER
> UNDISTURBED SOIL
TYPICAL WOOD WALL, R-62
> INTERIOR
- SCHEDULED GYP BOARD
- 2X8 STUD WALL @ 24" O.C. (ADVANCED STICK FRAMING)
WITH GRADE I BATT, OR DENSE-PACK CELLULOSE INSULATION
STRUCTURE, INSULATION, SERVICE CAVITY
- 7/16" SCHEDULED WALL SHEATHING
AIR BARRIER AND VAPOR RETARDER
SEAL JOINTS, CONNECTIONS AND PROTRUSIONS AIRTIGHT
- 9-1/2" I-JOIST @ 24" O.C. (CONTINUOUS)
WITH DENSE-PACK CELLULOSE INSULATION
INSULATION
- 1/2" WOOD FIBER BOARD SHEATHING
- SCHEDULED WIND-WASH BARRIER (CONTINUOUS)
WEATHER RESISTANT BARRIER
SEAL JOINTS, CONNECTIONS AND PROTRUSIONS WEATHERTIGHT
- 1X FURR FRAMING PER SCHEDULED SIDING
VENTILATION CAVITY
- SCHEDULED SIDING
> EXTERIOR
TYPICAL FLOOR SYSTEM
> SECOND FLOOR
- 3/8" SCHEDULED FLOATING FLOOR
- 3/4" SUBFLOOR
- 20" OPEN WEB TRUSSES @ 24" O.C.
STRUCTURE, SERVICE CAVITY
- 1-1/2" CROSS-COUNTER FURRING @ 24" O.C.
SOUND INSULATION HAT CHANNEL OR FRAMING
WITH 3-1/2" MIN. GRADE II BATT INSULATION
- SCHEDULED GYP BOARD
> FIRST FLOOR
HOT, LOW-SLOPE ROOF, R-90
> EXTERIOR
- SCHEDULED MEMBRANE SYSTEM
WEATHER RESISTANT BARRIER
- TAPER BOARD: MIN. 2" @ 1/4" PER 1'-0" SLOPE TO SCUPPERS
- 3/4" PLYWOOD ROOF DECK
- 20" OPEN WEB TRUSSES @ 24" O.C.: STRUCTURE
WITH DENSE-PACK CELLULOSE
INSULATION
- SCHEDULED AIR BARRIER AND VAPOR RETARDER
AIR BARRIER AND VAPOR RETARDER
- 2X CROSS-COUNTER FURR FRAMING (ROOM BY ROOM) @ 24" O.C.
SERVICE CAVITY; SET ELEVATION PER INFRASTRUCTURE
- SCHEDULED GYP BOARD
> INTERIOR
PERIMETER STEM WALL, R-45
> INTERIOR
- 11-1/4" ICF: 2-5/8" EPS, 6" CONCRETE, 2-5/8" EPS
STRUCTURE & INSULATION
- 6" EPS EXTERIOR INSULATION FINISH SYSTEM
INSULATION
SOURCE-DRAINED SYSTEM
WEATHER RESISTANT BARRIER
- DIMPLE MAT AROUND PERIMETER OF BUILDING FROM
B.O. FOOTING TO 1" ABOVE GRADE
> EXTERIOR
SET FLUSH
SCHEDULED SERVICE
CAVITY
TYPICAL PARAPET WALL
> INTERIOR
- ROOFING MEMBRANE
WEATHER RESISTANT BARRIER
- 1/2" SHEATHING
- 9-1/2" I-JOIST @ 24" O.C. (CONTINUOUS)
WITH DENSE-PACK CELLULOSE INSULATION
INSULATION
- 1/2" WOOD FIBER BOARD SHEATHING
- SCHEDULED WIND-WASH BARRIER (CONTINUOUS)
WEATHER RESISTANT BARRIER
SEAL JOINTS, CONNECTIONS AND PROTRUSIONS
WEATHERTIGHT
- 1X FURR FRAMING PER SCHEDULED SIDING
VENTILATION CAVITY
- SCHEDULED SIDING
> EXTERIOR
CONTINUOUS CAPILLARY
BREAK,
WEATHER RESISTANT
BARRIER
4" EPS FOAM BOARD, 3 SIDES,
USE AS "FORMWORK"
EXTERIOR INSULATION FINISH
SYSTEM TO BOTTOM OF
FOOTING
1'-2"
AIRTIGHT CONNECTION
TAPE ROOF AIR BARRIER AND
VAPOR RETARDER TO
SHEATHING
AIRTIGHT CONNECTION
ACOUSTICAL SEALANT
AIRTIGHT CONNECTION
SANDWICH AIR BARRIER AND
VAPOR RETARDER BETWEEN
TOP PLATE AND TRUSSES FOR
LATER ATTACHMENT TO FIELD
SHEETS
CONCRETE FOOTING, SEE S-1.1 PLAN,
BOT. OF FOOTING MIN. 3'-6" BELOW ADJACENT GRADE,
OR HARDSCAPE
"H2.5" ANCHOR, EA. TRUSS
AIRTIGHT CONNECTION
ACOUSTICAL SEALANT
SET FLUSH
Building Envelope
7.5x tighter than Code.
•Airtightness: 0.4 ACH50 (MN Code: 3.0 ACH50)
About 3x better insulated than Code.
•Slab: R-38 (MN Code: R-10)
The concrete slab sits on 10” of EPS foam board
insulation
•Wall R-57 (MN Code: R-21)
The walls are double stud wood framing and filled
with 18” of dense-packed cellulose insulation
•Roof R-87 (MN Code: R-49)
The low-sloped roof holds 20” of dense-packed
cellulose plus an average 4 1/2” tapered foam
insulation
Airtight, Vapor Open, High R-Value

18. Foundation Walls
Fully insulated from bottom to top.
•1/2” (13 mm) drywall where visible on interior
•6” (152 mm) Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF):
2 5/8” EPS, 6” concrete, 2 5/8” EPS
•6 1/2“ (152 mm) Exterior Insulated Finish
System (EIFS: EPS + stucco water-proofing
finish)
•Thickness: 18 1/4” (464 mm)
•Thermal: R-48 h ft² F/Btu [U-0.120 W/(m²K)]
•Fully insulated concrete footings:
4” [102 mm] EPS foam board insulation on all
exposed faces including the bottom
6” ICF + 6 1/2” EIFS

19. Concrete forms made from 4” EPS foam insulation

20. Level, compacted excavation for footings

21. Insulated concrete forms placed

22. Rebar placed into insulated concrete forms

24. Poured and insulated concrete footings

25. ICF foundation wall construction begins

26. Installing rebar into ICF walls

28. Poured ICF foundation walls

29. Exterior Insulation insulation installed
< Water service
< Sewer service

30. Exterior water-proofing stucco being installed

31. Finished foundation being backfilled

32. Completed insulated foundation
< Earthloop

33. Exterior Wood Walls
Thermal bridge-free, high R-value enclosure for
ultimate comfort, resiliency and noise reduction.
•1/2” (13 mm) drywall
•7 1/4" (184 mm) 2x8 advanced stick framing @ 24" o.c.
with dense-pack cellulose insulation
•7/16“ (11 mm) Huber ZIP sheathing:
Air barrier, vapor retarder, temporary weather barrier
•9 1/2" (241 mm) i-Joist wall framing @ 24" o.c.
with dense-pack cellulose insulation
•1/2" (13 mm) wood fiberboard sheathing
Temporary weather barrier
•Weather barrier membrane: Taped and sealed
•Ventilated siding: 3/4” (19 mm) furring strips
Corrugated steel, wood tongue and groove boards
•Thickness: 19 3/4” (501 mm)
•Thermal: R-57 h ft² F/Btu [U-0.099 W/(m²K)]
2x8 Framing + 10” I-Joists

34. Prefabricated 2x8 exterior wall sections
Huber ZIP sheathing
is the air barrier and
vapor retarder, as
well as a preliminary
weather barrier
during construction
< Huber ZIP tape is used for air sealing

36. Wood truss floor system

37. Second floor wall framing installed
Earthloop PEX tubing roughed in.

38. Low-Sloped Roof
Low sloped roofs are never flat.
No swimming pool here!
•1/2" (13 mm) drywall
•3 1/2" (89 mm) 2x4 @ 24” o.c., service cavity
•Intelligent air barrier and vapor control membrane, taped and
sealed
•20” (508 mm) wood open web roof trusses @ 24" o.c.
with dense-pack cellulose insulation
•3/4" (19 mm) Huber Advantech sheathing
Temporary weather barrier
•Min. 2" (51 mm) average 4 1/2” (97 mm) polyiso roofing foam
insulation board tapered 1/4” per foot to scuppers
•60 MIL reinforced EPDM membrane
Weather barrier
•Thickness: 28 5/8” (726 mm)
•Thermal: R-87 h ft² F/Btu [U-0.065 W/(m²K)]
Insulated Trusses + Tapered Foam

39. Wood roof trusses and air barrier/
smart vapor control membrane installed

40. Temporary weather barrier:
Taped roof sheathing >
Roof air barrier transition to wall sheathing >

41. Radon rock

43. Air sealing connection:
Exterior wall sheathing to foundation

44. Air sealing connection: Window rough-opening

45. Air sealing connection:
Wall-to-roof, wall-to-wall
Temporary weather barrier: Wall-to-roof >

46. Exterior i-Joist framing installed

47. Window rough opening detail completed

49. Exterior wood fiber board being installed

50. Exterior i-Joists become the roof parapet >
Scuppers being roughed in >

51. Temporary weather barrier:
Exterior wood fiberboard sheathing

52. Slab
No need for in-floor heat here.
•4" (102 mm) concrete
•Soil gas barrier:
Air, vapor, and weather barrier
•10" (254 mm) EPS foam board insulation
•Thickness: 14” (256 mm)
•Thermal: R-38 h ft² F/Btu [U-0.149 W/
(m²K)]
•Radon layer:
Gravel with passive Radon system
Concrete + EPS Foam Board

53. Sub slab services going in

54. Sub slab EPS foam insulation boards arriving

55. Sub slab insulation being installed

56. Managed and insulated protrusions

57. Soil gas barrier being installed
Managed and air sealed protrusions >

59. Concrete pour on a cold Minnesota winter day

60. Slab completed, interior partition walls built

61. < HVAC distribution systems being installed

62. Exterior porch roofs being installed
—fastened to the exterior i-Joist wall
framing (no thermal bridging)

63. Tapered foam and roofing membrane being installed
Roof now drains to the scuppers

64. Openings prepped for window installation

65. Window delivery

66. Passive House Windows
3x better than a Code-minimum window.
Optiwin’s Resista Classic wood-aluminum Passive House window
starts with a bigger frame that offers insulation and strength to
support triple-pane glazing. On doors and the tilt-and-turn window
sashes, three layers of gaskets ensure supreme airtightness,
weather protection and noise reduction. The tilt-and-turn
mechanism with multi-point lock provides easy cleaning,
ventilation, airtightness and security. The window sashes are
outfitted with exterior bug screens in the summer.
The triple-pane glazing is about 1-3/4” thick, Argon-filled and
coated to achieve maximum insulating value and high solar heat
gain at the same time. A superspacer thermally separates each
pane from the next.
Passive House windows enable passive solar heat gains, which
deliver around 60% of the annual heating demand (for free).
•Thermal: U(window)-0.13 Btu/(h ft² F) [U-0.73 W/(m²K)]
•Thermal: U(glass)-0.09 Btu/(h ft² F) [U-0.5 W/(m²K)]
•Solar Heat Gain Coefficient: 53%
Triple-Pane, Insulated Frame

67. Passive House windows staged

68. Rough opening with installed window

70. Weather barrier being installed

72. Furring strips for ventilated siding being installed

74. Prep for rough-in blower door (airtightness) test

75. Rough-in blower door test:
MN Code Max.: 3.0 ACH50
Passive House Max.: 0.6 ACH50
Test result: 0.38 ACH50

76. Dense-pack cellulose insulation.
Insulation day

77. Blown insulation is installed

81. Window Shading
In a passive solar home, windows are the
heaters. Exterior blinds become the
thermostat.
With about 60% of the annual heating load being
delivered through the Passive House windows, a passive
solar home needs a means to control that energy. This is
commonly done with exterior shades.
The shades are motorized and controlled by interior
temperature sensors, a weather station on the roof, and an
online weather service—all connected to Loxone Home
Automation. This automation manages the passive solar
heating without our interaction and also protects the
shades from damaging winds and frozen precipitation.
In addition to the automation, each shade can be
controlled individually via wall switches, or a smartphone
app.
Exterior Motorized Blinds

82. Exterior motorized shade box preparation

83. Exterior motorized shade installed

84. Managed protrusions:
Weather barrier complete
Ventilated siding being installed

94. Passive House Plus
90% less energy to heat and 2/3 less
energy overall. Net-zero with PV.
A certified Passive House uses a lot less energy than
conventional construction. The building envelope
insulation, Passive House windows, air sealing and heat-
recovery ventilation provide much superior comfort and
resiliency at lower operating cost. That means that
Passive House homes can easily operate all-electric
without the need for a natural gas connection.
The addition of on-site photovoltaic (PV solar panels)
makes a Passive House a Passive House Plus. Electricity
is either consumed directly, exported, or imported
depending on the availability of power from the roof. On
average, this means net-zero operation. PV is climate
neutral and the combination with Xcel Energy’s
Renewable Energy plan means any imports are as well.
All-Electric + Photovoltaic

95. Solar photovoltaic system being installed

97. Heating/ Cooling System
Using ambient air to heat and cool the
home.
If you look on the north-side of the home you will spot an
outdoor unit, which supplies the vertical air handler indoor
unit in the mudroom.
This cold climate air-to-air heat pump heats and cools the
house with the help of ambient air and electricity. Using
the refrigeration cycle, heat is “squeezed” from outside air
during the heating season, while in the summer, warm air
from the inside is rejected to the outside.
The heat pump operates during all Minnesota seasons
and heats the home on the coldest days of winter with the
equivalent output of 2 hair dryers going at the same time.
It is controlled by Loxone Home Automation with
temperature sensors throughout the home.
•Capacity: 12,000 BTU/h [3.5 kW]
Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump

98. Cold climate air source heat pump:
Indoor unit/ air handler

99. Ventilation System
Fresh, filtered air 24/7, 365 days of the year.
Mechanical ventilation is equal to opening all windows in the home for 30 minutes,
every 3 hours—day and night, year-round (which Minnesotans would not normally
do). Constant ventilation is the foundation for healthy indoor environmental
properties such as low CO2, VOCs, Radon, humidity, and a significantly reduced
risk for the spread of pollen and airborne diseases such as COVID-19, as well as the
filtration of wild-fire smoke. It therefore provides much superior indoor air quality
and energy efficiency over window ventilation.
The whole-house, balanced, heat-recovery system runs continuously to extract
moist, or stale air from the kitchen, bathrooms, laundry and utility spaces, and
supplies fresh, filtered outside air to the great room and bedrooms. 85% of the heat
(or cold in the summer) in the extract air is recovered by the heat exchanger inside
the ventilation machine. The system boosts automatically in case of high indoor
humidity, and the heat exchanger can automatically be bypassed for free night time
cooling. The Zehnder app enables programming, manual setting as well as
maintenance reminders.
Each room is connected via air tubing that is home-run from/ to two manifolds and
silencers in the first floor closet. The air current is so small that it is virtually silent
and otherwise imperceptible. Note the white, round registers in the ceilings
throughout the home, which either supply, or extract air.
The ground source heat exchanger pre-heats (or pre-cools) the incoming outside
air with the help of an earthloop (approx. 300 feet of 1” PEX tubing buried in the
location of the old basement). This adds further energy efficiency and comfort to
the system.
Whole-House, Balanced, Heat-Recovery

100. Ventilation machine Ground source heat exchanger
Outside air intake
Earthloop PEX tubing
Exhaust air
Supply air
manifold
Return air
manifold
Controller
Outside air filter
Outside
air filter
Return
air filter
Earthloop PEX tubing

101. Earthloop

102. Hot Water System
“Squeezing” heat from the air inside the home to turn it
into hot water.
The refrigeration cycle commonly used in heat pumps from refrigerators and
clothes dryers to air conditioners produce a coefficient of productivity
greater than 1. This means that for each unit of electricity invested, more than
1 unit of heat (or cold) is being generated. This is great news for water heaters
as they tend to be one of the largest consumers of energy in a home. The
tanked, electric hot water heater installed in this home capitalizes on ambient
air inside the house to generate hot water. In return it produces cold air,
which—in the summer—becomes free air conditioning and dehumidification
for the home. In the winter, however, the heat pump system for the home has
to generate additional heat to replace what the water heaters extracts. In
total, this still makes for a coefficient of productivity well beyond any
combustion device
A wastewater heat recovery pipe pre-warms City water with the help of the
affluent going down the drain, for instance when someone is taking a shower.
All water pipes in the home are insulated to move as much of the precious
heat from the water heater to the tap (as opposed to heating the home with
it).
Cold water lines are also insulated to eliminate the risk for condensation and
water drips inside walls and ceilings in the summer.
Electric Air-To-Water Heat Pump

103. < Tanked, electric, air-to-water heat pump water heater
< Waste water heat recovery unit
Water service >

104. Clothes Dryer
No holes in this building
envelope.
The electric, ventless, heat pump dryer
takes the moisture from the laundry and
puts it down the drain, rather than outside,
which means no holes in the building for
either an exhaust, or an air-intake.
The energy consumption for the entire
drying cycle is less than what a
conventional gas dryer uses to just spin its
drum.
Electric, Ventless, Heat Pump
Electric ventless, heat pump dryer >

105. Home Automation
•Heating/ cooling
•Exterior Motorized Blinds
•Switches with thermostats in
most rooms
•Programming automates
shades before heating/ cooling
controls, i.e. passive systems
are always first
Loxone

106. Final blower door test:
MN Code Max.: 3.0 ACH50
Passive House Max.: 0.6 ACH50
Test result: 0.38 ACH50