Sacramento’s first Passive House sets the standard for green builds

By Krista Minard | Solving Sacramento In East Sacramento, on a narrow avenue of small, single-story homes, a transformation is underway. An 82-year-old bungalow is becoming the new kid on the block: the first Passive House in the Sacramento region. That is, a home that’s certifiably energy efficient, airtight and well-ventilated, with triple-pane windows and continuous insulation to keep out summer heat, winter cold, smoke, pollen — bugs, too. It’s all electric, with rooftop photovoltaics (to convert light into electricity), solar storage and electric-vehicle charging. Materials are as fire-resilient and low-carbon emitting as possible. It’s as green as green building gets. It started when a family outgrew their two-bedroom, one-bath home. With aged walls, windows and just about everything else, the house presented a prime opportunity for not just a rebuild, but an update that would address some of today’s biggest environmental challenges. Enter architect Bronwyn Barry, principal of San Francisco-based residential design firm Passive House BB, and Andrew Turner, CEO of GoodSpace High Performance Builders, based in Sacramento. Both are certified Passive House professionals, and with their team they’ve worked on the project for the past year. The term “Passive House” refers to the measurable standard of design and...