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Old 03-28-12, 05:51 PM   #39
S-F
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MN Renovator View Post
I guess it depends on whether or not someone wants a passive McMansion.
Yep.

I've been meaning to start a thread here to discuss this recent GBA blog entry:
Occupant Behavior Makes a Difference | GreenBuildingAdvisor.com

This is a comparison between the house my friend made, which I seem to talk about a lot, and a passivehaus made in the same state.

Moral of the story?

I have friends who grew up on rice farms in Japan and they didn't have heat or insulation. No insulation. NO air sealing. None. At all. They talk about feeling the wind in their bedrooms at night and waking up to the top of the fish bowl frozen. They would cook food on a kerosene lamp and opening the lid of the earthenware pot was a highlight of the day because of the warmth. They would leave it cooking all week, occasionally adding vegetables as they ran out. My grandmother told me that as a child during the depression in Buffalo NY she would wake up to find the bathroom wash cloths frozen. When you start living a healthy lifestyle in harmony with the natural motions of the Earth and the universe a decent envelope is good but the real passivehaus lives in ones attitude and lifestyle.
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You know you're an ecorenovator if anything worth insulating is worth superinsulating.
Quote:
S-F: "What happens when you slam the door on a really tight house? Do the basement windows blow out?"

Green Building Guru: "You can't slam the door on a really tight house. You have to work to pull it shut."
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