A better house: our journey to a passive home.

HousingClimate Dec 5 Better North Shore

Written By Guest Writer: Claudia Cornwall

[The Cornwall's] new passive house re-uses the yellow cedar from the original bungalow

Claudia Cornwall is an author and educator based in the Lower Mainland of BC. This is her journey to a home with reduced emissions. There are photos and details about the build and how living in the home improved the family's life and health.

For a long time, my husband, Gordon Cornwall, and I dreamed of a home that would minimize energy consumption. We lived in a bungalow in North Vancouver that was built in 1959. It was charming, post-and-beam, mid-century modern. But it had many flaws: single-glazed windows, a cracked slab, and poor insulation. It had moisture issues, and we routinely scraped black mould off the window frames. We decided to deconstruct our old home and build a new one on the same site. We engaged EconGroup to both design and build a passive house. 

What is it like to live in a passive home? 

Not only do we have insulation in the walls and under the roof, as conventional homes do, but also under the slab. 

Our moisture issues are a thing of the past. Thick walls buffer us from cold and heat and mute sound. We don’t hear traffic, sirens, or dogs barking. Overnight guests often comment on how well they sleep. 

The inside air is always fresh. There is very little dust. Our ventilation system relies on  Zehnder filters, one fine and one coarse. We also have a carbon filter to keep out particulate matter. We only use it when smoke is a risk. The system has two parts: one for the suite and another for the rest of the house. Our two households don’t share the air. If my husband or I get an infection, our tenant doesn’t have to worry about catching it. And we don’t have to worry about coming down with something that she might have either. (Learn more on the topic of inside air.)

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