first passive house conference in 2009. He studied more, took classes, and then made the investment to travel to Germany where he threw himself into the passive construction culture there. “That’s where I fell in love,” he said, casting a glance at Kim and, with a wink, completed the thought: “with the ‘Passivhaus’ concept: hook, line and sinker.” Now, as a passive house consultant, tradesperson— and homeowner—Macri and Kim decided that their family will move into the structure when it’s complete. “With three kids, our family is growing. This was the perfect opportunity to put our money where our mouths are and build New Jersey’s first passive house,” said Kim. Up close and personal Macri’s passive house in Ramsey is roughly 5,000 square feet in size, with two floors and a basement, four bedrooms and three and a half baths. On the outside, they chose concrete board-and-batten siding. “To the untrained eye, the home appears to be similar to neighboring houses,” said John Lorino, passive house consultant, designer and President at New York Citybased All Around the House Energy. “But underneath the siding,” continued Lorino, “is air-tight sheathing and a Larsen Truss—a type of wall used to build very thick walls to provide above-average amounts of insulation.” The home’s R-values reveal how seriously they considered the insulation to be: R-45 walls, R-90 roof and R-24 for the foundation slab. “Passive House has both passive and active heat sources,” explained Cramer Silkworth, mechanical engineer and consultant for Brooklyn, NY-based Baukraft Engineering. “The passive —and primary— heat sources are the most important. They’re calculated carefully: the home’s angle and exposure to the sun, body heat Macri’s family: six people and a dog the impact of plugged-in appliances, light bulb type and quantity . . . even computers and TVs.” The home’s active source of heating and cooling is a surprisingly small Fujitsu Halcyon multi-zone heat pump system. “The Macri’s home has a two-ton, or 24,000 BTU, multi-zone system with three indoor units connected to one outdoor unit,” explained Mike Psihoules, national energy solutions manager at Fujitsu General America. The upstairs and downstairs are each equipped with concealed Slim Ducted indoor units, which deliver conditioned air through ductwork to each of the rooms. Basement areas are served by a small wall-mounted indoor unit. “The small Fujitsu multizone system was a perfect fit for the home’s occasional heating or cooling needs, while providing great energy efficiency,” said Macri. While Fujitsu offers one of the world’s most efficient single-zone mini-split system, rated at 33 SEER, Macri chose a multizone system to serve as the secondary source of heating and cooling (because, by definition, the Passive House is the primary source of heating and cooling). “And when the system is needed, it’s not active for long because the home is so tight and well insulated; none of the heating or cooling escapes,” said Lorino. Cramer Silkworth, left, and Darren Macri, finish installing a Fujitsu Halcyon in the Passive House basement. Song for all seasons “The whole house will be a steady 68°F year round,” added Macri. “Every single room, every single surface, all of it inside—that’s the beauty of a passive house. The idea of controlling interior temperature with a thermostat is so wasteful and passé. The ERV will constantly move and circulate the 68°F air around the house—equalizing inside temps while adding fresh air 24/7.” Passive houses are comfortable in all seasons because there are no forceful drafts, and temperature variance is narrow. With active, balanced ventilation, indoor air quality is superb. People new to passive homes are surprised to learn that—where a traditionallybuilt home will be hotter or colder near windows, depending on the time of year— a passive home has constant temperature throughout the whole space. “Building passive homes not only shows potential clients what Bleu Nest can do as a company, but it also acts as a movement for the way we should all be building for the future.” ICM John Lorino conducts a blower door test to measure the tightness of the building envelope. Mike Psihoules, left, discusses system operations with Darren and Kim Macri. 6 ICM/May/June 2016
ICM May-June 2016
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