Passive House Colorado — Kipnis Architecture + Planning

‘2025 Green Good Design International Design Award’

Passive House 2 | Eagle County, CO

Located in Carbondale, Colorado, this home is on track to be a certified Passive House.  Passive House’s  require about 1/10th the energy to heat and cool them.  They are comprised of an extremely tight perimeter shell including high performance triple glazed windows, all-electric appliances and mechanical systems, and on site renewable energy.  

The design of this home mimics the surroundings mountain ranges, with a lower rolling form at the first floor and a series of three peaks at the upper level.

An organizing central hallway bisects the home, with the living, dining and kitchen on one side, and a study/bedroom, mudroom and garage on the other side.  At the second floor, the primary bedroom suite is on one side while the three bedrooms are located on the other.

This home is planned to be a rental host property, with digital framed screens throughout.  Guests have the option to upload personal images that will be set up on the displays for them, personalizing their space while they are staying there.

  • - EV charging is provided in the garage

    - Paints, sealants and adhesives will have no VOC’s.

    - A 10.6 kW solar array is mounted on the metal roof

    - Siding on the front bay is made from cement fiberboard

    - All light fixtures have LED fixtures and be fully dimmable

    - Extremely airtight building envelope that is approximately ten times tighter than typical construction.

    - Ceiling fans are used through the house as a more efficient way to keep cool during certain times of the year.

    - In lieu of a wood burning fireplace, a very realistic carbon free ‘vapor’ fireplace is located in the family room

    - A PAC-Clad standing seam metal roof is used which is made from recycled metal and is highly recyclable.

    - A large battery backup is powered by the solar array, providing power at night and during any power outage.

    - The cooktop will be an induction unit, which is an extremely efficient way to cook. Other appliances are Energy Star rated.

    - High-performance triple glazed, low ‘E’, argon filled Sierra Pacific windows are used to reduce heat loss and manage solar heat gain.

    - Passive House requires the careful use of windows as well as very high levels of insulation - the walls are R42, the roof is R70 and the crawl space floor is R20.

    - Kitchen and bathroom counters are from the Hybriq line from Cosentino, meaning they are made from 100% renewable energy, 98% recycled water and 40% recycled materials.

    - Dual flush toilets and low flow plumbing fixtures will be installed. Water ™ rated dishwasher and washing machine are specified.

    - There are no combustion appliances in the house. The mechanical system, heat pump water heater, heat pump dryer and the induction cooktop are all electric. This will eliminate on site CO2 emissions.

    - The wood flooring is from sustainably managed forests and will have low or no VOC’s and no added urea-formaldehyde.

    - An energy recovery ventilation (ERV) unit provides efficient and controlled outdoor air into the home to significantly enhance indoor air quality. MERV 13 air filters will be used.

    - Operable windows at strategic location will provide natural fresh-air cross ventilation. Operable Velux skylights are located over the main two story hallway, which is ideally located for venting out stale air.

    - A highly efficient ducted and zoned electric Mitsubishi heat pump HVAC system is used - The heating and cooling systems are connected to programmable smart thermostats, controlled remotely by mobile devices.

    - Instead of standard wood stud framing, this home utilizes 8” deep Tstuds™, thermally isolated wall studs that are filled with continuous insulation that address thermal bridging. A continuous 3” layer of rigid insulation covers the entire home.

    - The concrete mix will use CarbonCure, which contains takes carbon dioxide and injects it into the concrete and is permanently transformed into calcium carbonate, i.e. limestone. This process also requires less CO2 intensive cement in the concrete mix.