Case Study: First Passive House in Corvallis, Oregon

As both the family living in this beautiful new home and the owners of a local construction firm–G Christianson Construction–the homeowners wanted to be able to showcase their work to potential clients, as well as encourage other builders in the Corvallis area to aim for a higher level of sustainability.

The Contemporary Craftsman style custom Passive House that they built has a carbon footprint that is 5 times smaller than that of a typical house built in Oregon of a similar size. This footprint is even smaller thanks to a PV system that generates energy in excess of the home’s annual power needs.

12″ thick walls, enhanced with a 2” layer of sustainable cork insulation, exceptionally efficient windows and doors from Zola Windows, PV panels, heat pump water heater, Energy Star appliances, LED lighting, highest efficiency HRV system, and loads of natural daylighting keep the home’s annual energy bills to $0.0.

Zola Thermo uPVC is one of the highest performing window options for value-oriented projects including economical passive house and net zero projects, as well as large multi-family developments.

Featuring a 85mm deep, steel-reinforced frame and steel-reinforced sashes and triple glazing. Consistent with Zola’s high quality and focus on thermal performance, the Zola Thermo uPVC comes in standard triple pane, and has an overall U-value of 0.14/hr.sqft.

The dining room features a french door in Zola Thermo Clad. For many customers, this product line hits the sweet spot in terms of value, performance, and craftsmanship. Zola’s Thermo Clad features a 88mm deep frame and triple glazing.

The house was built with the intent that it would be the owners’ forever home. A lot of thought went into the design to maximize the use of the space, by incorporating architect/author Sarah Susanka’s design principles, as well as some of the concepts developed by architect Ross Chapin. On the energy side, the Net-Zero home is constructed to last well beyond the owners’ lifetimes, with extremely durable finishes. The reduction of energy use that is inherent to Passive House design and construction made it possible to achieve net-zero energy through roof-mounted solar power alone.

• Silver Medal Winner at the 2017 Annual North American Passive House Conference
• PHIUS + 2015 Certified
• PHIUS + Source Zero Certified Project
• Earth Advantage Platinum Certified
• Dept. of Energy Zero Energy Home
• Energy Star v.3 Certified

Connect with this project + Zola’s Thermo uPVC product:

• Houzz Tour: Passive Energy and a Reading Nook in Oregon
• Dwell: First Passive House in Corvallis, Oregon
• Custom Builder Fall 2018: Getting to Net Zero

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