Mike Trolle’s Passive House was built on the remnants of a sum…
Mike Trolle’s Passive House was built on the remnants of a summer cottage in a Connecticut Lake community. The only parts that were salvaged for the new home were the original CMU foundation, first-floor joists, and subflooring.
The original subfloor with its new, taped layer of plywood can b…
The original subfloor with its new, taped layer of plywood can be seen in the center of the photo. On the right, a 6-inch layer of stone dust—for thermal mass—covers 12 inches of foam.
Drains that are under the crushed-stone base for the patio at th…
Drains that are under the crushed-stone base for the patio at the back of the house remove water that seeps down the sloped lot. Gutter leaders from the long south-facing roof will also tie into the same system.
Plywood sheathing joints were taped before horizontal 2x3s and 1…
Plywood sheathing joints were taped before horizontal 2x3s and 1/2-inch plywood strips were added. HRV exhaust is seen between dormer windows.
2x3s and1/2-inch plywood strips were lagged to the studs through…
2x3s and1/2-inch plywood strips were lagged to the studs through the taped plywood sheathing. Two-inch-thick polyisocyanurate-foam sheets were installed between the 2×3 plywood nailers.
A second layer of foam was added over the first and held in plac…
A second layer of foam was added over the first and held in place by lag bolts through the vertical 1x3s, which also create a rain screen for the Hardiplank siding.
Triple-pane Klearwall windows, which are made in Ireland, are us…
Triple-pane Klearwall windows, which are made in Ireland, are used throughout the house.
Hardiplank siding and Boral TruExterior trim cover the exterior …
Hardiplank siding and Boral TruExterior trim cover the exterior of the Passive House.
This past month was the coldest February on record in Connecticut, but inside Mike Trolle’s Passive House in Danbury, the indoor temperature never dipped below 68 degrees. He says, “When it got to -12 degrees the house stayed toasty with all systems working as they should.”
He and his brother have run BPC Green Builders, in Wilton, Conn., since 2000. They’ve worked on many energy-efficient houses and received numerous commendations, including a DOE Challenge Home Award. They have also built three LEED Platinum houses.
But Mike’s own house was their first Passive House.
The 1,650-square-foot home started life as a summer cottage and is technically a remodel, but all that’s left of the original structure is the CMU foundation and the first-floor joist system. “If I were to do it over,” says Mike, “it would have been easier to start from a bare lot.”
The house’s energy use has been monitored by Steven Winter Associates, in Norwalk, Conn. Since Mike, his wife, and daughter moved in, the one-year cost of electricity for heating and cooling has been $337. Overall annual energy costs have been $1,285 for electricity and $103 for propane for a tankless Navien water heater.
To find out more about the house, you can read Mike’s 10-part series that he wrote for his local newspaper.
