efficiency
The construction of the 20k Passive Home in Opelika, AL was a collaboration between Lee County Habitat for Humanity, Rural Studio’s 20k Home Project, and Auburn University faculty and students. The construction of the house was completed by fifteen architecture students and seven building science students, and Habitat volunteers over the course of eight months during 2018. The house was built to meet Fortified Home safety standards as well as Passive House Certification, supervised by Passive House Consultant David Bitter from Solera Studios in Atlanta, GA.
Team: Lauren Ballard, Meghan Bernhardt, Fox Carlson, Emma Clark, Katherine Ferguson, Jed Grant, Hayley Hendrick, Jeff Jeong, Mary Ma, Kate Mazade, Ashley Mims, Neill Morris, Howard Murrell, Conor O’Daniel, Corey Pope, Walker Reeves, Rowland Sauls, Jordan Staples, KC Terry, Cana Tuberville, Matthew Wingard, Wes Vansant
Photo by Matt Hall
The 20k Passive Home explored the reformation of construction methods and technology in affordable housing. The home was constructed following the five Passive House principles. The principles are window performance, no thermal bridges, air sealing, active ventilation, and energy efficient equipment. To meet the Fortified Home Safety Standards, the team implemented tie downs to improve the home’s resistance to damage from hail, high winds, and thunderstorms. The 20k Passive home reached an airtightness of 0.36 air changes per hour (ACH50) and 81 cfm50, compared to the 8.9 ACH50 and 1032 cfm50 of the control model homes..