What does a home of the future look like?

Imagine that it’s a bone-chilling 35 degrees outside… yet it’s a comfy 70 degrees inside your home, and the heat isn’t on! That’s the wonderful reality of living in what is called a “Passive House”. We’ll take you inside a home that is airtight, with thick, insulated walls, and cutting edge technology that exchanges interior and exterior air… all of which makes it comfortable inside without any kind of active heating and cooling systems. Did we also mention that they use 85-90% less energy for heating than a typical house? The Passive House movement has quietly taken root in Brooklyn. You’ll meet the architect that designs them… and the homeowners who live in them. We’ll take you to see a home under construction, and show you why we say these homes are “sealed for freshness.”

 

TRANSCRIPT

MICHAEL: Right now we're

standing in the garden

level of my house.

We're in Brooklyn.

It's a typical row house.

The only real difference

is, it's a Passive House.

MICHAEL: A Passive House

is a really well insulated

house.

The analogy that's used a

lot is it's like living in

a thermos.

The thermos doesn't let

the heat out.

So it's the same thing.

You're getting better

windows and better doors,

better insulation,

and then you're really

really sealing these

houses.

MICHAEL: So right now,

it's about 35,

36 degrees outside.

It's 70 degrees inside.

We've never turned the

heat on, last winter,

we didn't do it at all.

And in the summer,

as it becomes hotter and

hotter outside,

inside the house stays

cooler and cooler.

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