House designed on Passive House principles survives Cali wildfire | Hacker News Reader

House designed on Passive House principles survives Cali wildfire

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14 pointsdasKrokodil6 comments

> “Passive House is considered the most rigorous voluntary energy-based standard in the design and construction industry today. Consuming up to 90% less heating and cooling energy than conventional buildings, and applicable to almost any building type or design, the Passive House high-performance building standard is the only internationally recognized, proven, science-based energy standard in construction delivering this level of performance. Fundamental to the energy efficiency of these buildings, the following five principles are central to Passive House design and construction: 1) superinsulated envelopes, 2) airtight construction, 3) high-performance glazing, 4) thermal-bridge-free detailing, and 5) heat recovery ventilation.“ - Nickelsass

So it’s not just resistant to fire, it’s also much more energy-efficient and preserves temperature better.

Would the insulation also make it sound-proof?

And it looks nice. The only problem is I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s very expensive and/or difficult to build.

EDIT: People are saying it’s technically <20% more expensive, but requires specialized, skilled craftsmen and takes longer to build.

If energy prices increase and climate change become a concern, and as new architects who are taught new techniques come around, I can see these being widespread in the future. But for now, probably the only people getting these are people who care enough to sacrifice some money/time/flexibility.

> Would the insulation also make it sound-proof?

Not necessarily. Thermal insulation uses light materials, sound insulation requires heavy materials.

Perhaps this should be kept in mind while rebuilding all those houses that were lost?

Something more substantive than an unsourced and undocumented photo would be more useful.

The OP did share this link in the comments: https://passivehouseaccelerator.com/articles/building-forwar...

That would be a far superior submission.

It also provides a basis for substantive criticism. E.g., there are many claims advanced without any evidence or testing of those claims.

There are full-size structure tests under wildfire / WUI (wildland/urban interface) conditions. These are nontrivial and expensive. Findings are often nonintuitive.

I'd found some good videos previously, those aren't turning up for me presently, though this is a detailed discussion of the phenomenon:

<https://yewtu.be/watch?v=NRpVPhjGscA>

I'd be quite wary of either coincidental anecdotes (as Reddit discussion notes, there are several other surviving structures, apparently not Passivhaus designs), or speculative discussion of how a design might perform under actual wildfire conditions.

One example from the current fires is the Pasadena Jewish Center, which at first blush looks fairly robust: stucco or concrete construction, clay tile roof. But that structure burnt completely in the Eaton fire.

Story of the destruction here: <https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2025-01-08/pasadena-...>

I've found a few images of the structure previously, though those don't show much detail. The vulnerability of that specific building was surprising to me.

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