Passive House, 140 Centre Street

The project includes the following passive strategies:

• Highly insulated and airtight enclosure with careful detailing to minimize thermal bridging
• Balanced continuous ventilation with energy recovery
• Efficient mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems
• Hot water panels on roof for solar gain

SGH designed the wood-framed structure and highlights of our design include the following:

• Sustainably harvested wood
• Wood framing spaced at 24 in. o.c. to reduce material usage compared to typical 16 in. o.c. spacing
• Stud walls with interior and exterior stud walls, creating an interstitial space for continuous cellulose insulation between the planes
• Interior stud wall located inboard of the retaining wall, allowing for a thinner retaining wall and minimizing the volume of concrete
• Wood-framed, roof trusses with open webs, providing a cavity for continuous cellulose insulation
• Roof and floor sheathing that cantilevers over the interior stud wall, minimizing the thermal bridge to the exterior wall
• Use of foam glass isolators at structural bearing locations, reducing thermal losses through the structure