Wenona Lake Passive House

Designed with a full walk-out basement and single storey main floor, the simple rectangular footprint
of the Lee residence is informed by the stringent criteria of the Passive House design ethic. The home
is designed and built to be extremely energy efficient and use the absolute minimum of power to heat
and light it. The building’s simple shape reduces the area of the external envelope and as such
minimizes the external walls and roof that require insulating. Triple glazed windows and doors are
strategically positioned to take full advantage of passive solar radiation and the super insulated
envelope ensures that the house holds a consistent comfortable temperature through the coldest and
warmest times of the year.

The build itself also focused efficiency, and speed. A wooden floor of engineered joists and plywood
was laid onto the poured concrete foundation walls in a single day. A panelised wall system was
erected onto this floor, also in one day, and the roof trusses were craned into position on the next. The
roof was sheeted and weatherproofed in a day too, taking the house from concrete basement walls to
fully roofed and weather-tight in just one week.

The aforementioned panelised wall system is a product designed by Tooketree Passive Homes. Wall
panels (nine feet tall and up to 20 feet long) arrive at the job site as complete units that are lifted into
position using a crane, then bolted together and secured to the floor. The wall panels are approximately
18” thick, their construction including 2×6” interior load bearing wall studs, high performance vapour
barrier, plywood sheathing, 7” of dense pack cellulose insulation, exterior 2×4” studs, 1.5” thick wood
fibreboard insulation, a high performance weather resistant barrier, and exterior strapping to take
siding. After all electrical, mechanical and plumbing services are installed within the interior 2×6” wall
more insulation is added, creating a super insulated building envelope. CDH installed conventional
interior finishes to the Lee residence and wooden exterior siding, making this high performing home
seem completely conventional to all but the most keen eyed of visitors.

Passive House design and building is a passion of CDH owner, Chris Dobbins. His own home is passive, too, and he is more than happy break down the details and explain Passive House design if you are considering committing to a
truly energy efficient future.

Type: Passive House
Size: 1092 sqft
Location: Wenona Lake