Olivebridge, New York
Harmony House
- Architect
- Demo Architects, Inc.
- General Contractor
- Balanced Builders
- Size
- 2,800 sq. ft. Residence
- Project Type
- PHIUS New Construction
Challenge
Build the first Passive House (certified PHIUS+2018) entirely built using Guardian Structural Technologies’ SHIELD™ Panels.
Solution
DEMO architects conceived the design and engineering of the healthy, comfortable and energy efficient home.
The wall panels for the home were 9.25” R-46.25 and roof panels 12” R-60.
Panels sealed with low expansion foam with exterior wrapped with peel and stick membrane for air tightness.
Result
The structure was assembled in a fraction of the time compared to stick build house.
It is the first Passive House certified to the PHIUS+2018 specifications in the United States.
Why this approach fit
Commentary from our editorial team. The challenge, solution and result above are the project record as reported by Guardian Structural.
Passive House is the hardest standard represented on this site because it is verified rather than modelled alone. Certification requires a blower-door test on the finished building, so the air-tightness detailing is measured before anyone signs anything. A wall can hit its R-value on paper and still fail the test.
That is why the sealing detail matters more here than the panel thickness. Guardian describes joints sealed with low-expansion foam and the exterior wrapped in a peel-and-stick membrane. The foam handles the panel-to-panel joint and the membrane provides a continuous air barrier on the outside face, which is the easier place to keep it continuous because there are fewer penetrations than on the inside.
The assemblies are thick by any standard: 9.25 inch walls at R-46.25 and 12 inch roof panels at R-60. Passive House sets a demand target rather than an assembly target, so the required thickness follows from the climate, the shape of the building and the glazing, and a compact house in the Hudson Valley lands in that range.
Guardian reports this as the first Passive House certified to the PHIUS+2018 specification in the United States. The claim to weigh independently is the certification itself, which is public and verifiable through PHIUS, rather than any performance figure derived from it.
