"These green homes are designed to be as energy efficient as possible. New incentives aim to make them more budget-friendly."
"On the morning of June 7, 2023, New York City woke to a sky of orange haze as the smoke from Canadian wildfires blew in from hundreds of miles away. It was a health hazard — city authorities said the air quality had not been as bad since the 1960s. That day, Chad Dickerson, a former CEO of Etsy, put up a number of air quality monitors around his Brooklyn townhouse. “It was pretty much 100 percent pure the whole time,” he says.
Dickerson’s house escaped the intense wildfire smoke because of one crucial decision he and his partner made when renovating their home from late 2018 through 2021: to make it a passive house. Passive houses are designed to be as energy efficient as possible, typically with top-notch insulation and a perfect seal that prevents outside air from penetrating the home; air flows in and out through filtration and exhaust systems only. Their benefits include protection from pollution and pollen, noise insulation and a stable indoor temperature that minimizes energy needs. That translates to long-term savings on heating and cooling.
While the concept has been around for about 50 years, experts say that the United States is on the cusp of a passive house boom, driven by lowered costs, state-level energy code changes and a general greater awareness of — and desire for — more sustainable housing."
Hannah Seo reports for the Washington Post October 30, 2024.
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