Architecture Theses and Dissertations

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A Design Approach to Achieving the Passive House Standard in a Home Energy Retrofit
(University of Oregon, 2011-06) Hogan, Matthew Bryan, 1982-
Passive House is a voluntary, performance-based energy standard for buildings. Passive Houses use on average 90% less energy for space conditioning than code-designed houses; Passive House therefore offers an ambitious performance target for home energy retrofits. Retrofits built to the Passive House standard in Europe have demonstrated a high level of energy performance. In the U.S., few Passive House retrofits exist to date; for this reason, design and cost information for such retrofits is lacking. This study establishes an exemplar through designing the Passive House retrofit of an older home in Eugene, Oregon. The retrofit's cost-effectiveness was examined by comparing projected "business as usual" (BAU) life cycle costs to those associated with retrofit. While the BAU scenario resulted in the lowest cost over a 30-year life cycle, the difference is relatively small; minor adjustments to key variables make the retrofit financially viable.