Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the building at 1492 Westminster is Rhode Island’s first certified Passive House, it is the first certified multi-family Passive House.

Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Recently, Rhode Island certified its first multi-family “Passive House.” What does that mean? And will we all live in one someday? 

We had Marin Warshay and Charlie Adams from our Possibly team look into this. 

Marin Warshay: Hey Megan!

Charlie Adams: Hello!

Megan Hall: So first off, what does it mean for a house to be passive? 

Marin Warshay: Basically it means that the house needs only as much energy as it can produce on its own from renewable sources.

Charlie Adams: So these houses are typically super insulated, kept warm by electric appliances and body heat, and don’t really need cooling. 

Megan Hall: Cool! Can I move into a passive house?

Marin Warshay: Well, there’s only one multi-family building in Rhode Island so far. It’s located at 1492 Westminster St. in Providence, not far from Classical High School.

Charlie Adams: To learn more, we talked with the project’s lead architect, Peter Gill Case, from Truth Box Architects.

Peter Gill Case: I’ve been an architect in Rhode Island for over 25 years (3:26-3:51)

Marin Warshay: Peter says one of the most important elements of designing a passive house is ensuring that it’s virtually airtight.

Peter Gill Case: We got what’s called a blower door. So it’s a system you can set up and depressurize the inside, and figure out how much air leakage is going in and out of the building. 

Megan Hall: Hmm that sounds a little… claustrophobic?

Marin Warshay: Don’t worry! The houses also have ventilation systems. And they are built so that they retain heat even while they’re blowing air out.

Megan Hall: How does that work?

Charlie Adams: Well, when warm air moves out of the house, a device transfers its heat to the new, cold air coming in. 

Marin Warshay: Basically, you can just recycle the heat that’s already in your house.

Charlie Adams: This, plus the great insulation, means these houses can meet most of their energy needs with rooftop solar panels and south-facing windows that let in a lot of light in the winter.

Marin Warshay: Peter says designers do a lot to keep a house passive:

Peter Gill Case:: They measure everything…the airflow… they measure the appliances you select…wall assembly…and the windows…moisture going in and out…

Megan Hall: Does all that effort translate into less greenhouse gas emissions?

Charlie Adams: Absolutely! Passive houses use 90% less energy than a typical building for heating and cooling, and if that energy is generated by renewables, it’s net zero. 

Marin Warshay: That means if every house in Rhode Island was a passive house, state emissions would drop by about 20%!

Megan Hall: So are we all going to be living in a passive house one day? 

Charlie Adams: It wouldn’t be that hard to imagine, but price could be a limiting factor. Right now, passive houses cost about 10% more than a regular house. That upfront investment is a little pricey for the average homebuyer, but not surprising, considering it’s not the typical approach..

Marin Warshay: But many other environmental innovations, like solar panels, have seen huge cost reductions once they go mainstream. So these houses may get cheaper as they get more popular.

Charlie Adams: And it’s actually easier to make bigger buildings passive, so we might start seeing passive apartments or office buildings.

Marin Warshay: But your house doesn’t have to be passive to dramatically reduce emissions.

Charlie Adams: Adding extra insulation and replacing your heating system with heat pumps can reduce your home emissions by over 50%. 

Marin Warshay: Couple that with renewable energy, and the emissions reductions are even more substantial.

Megan Hall: Got it. Thanks Marin and Charlie! That’s it for today. 

For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio, Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society and Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative.

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