Heat wave? What heat wave?

It’s been mercifully cool this summer in the SF Bay Area so far. Cool to cold, like “Mark Twain in San Francisco” cold. Not great for swimming, but pleasant for those of us at work!

Anyhow, my gratitude extended to sympathy for those folks elsewhere enduring heat waves, prompting a reflection on some data from one of our high-performance home projects that I still find astounding - and I designed it!

This 1922 Craftsman in Santa Cruz was redesigned and upgraded to Passive House performance. This house has no A/C, so the owners cool the house, when necessary, by opening windows at night or in the morning. As the day warms up, they close the windows and use their heat recovery ventilation for a superbly comfortable and clean indoor environment.

Anyhow, during a freak heat wave, it got up to >100ºF outside. The warmest indoor temperature was 77ºF. WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING!

How does this help in hotter climates? Even if it’s too warm and/or humid at night for natural cooling, these homes can “store” their indoor temperature for a long time. Instead of running your cooling system at the hottest time of the day, you can choose when it’s convenient.

Maybe that’s the middle of the day when solar output is highest, or in the middle of the night when the system runs most efficiently. Regardless, you can avoid running it during peak demand, when occupants of low-performing buildings are forced to either pay high energy costs, or suffer discomfort, or both. If the grid does go out, a high-performance home is comfortable, and livable, for much longer too.

High-performance homes excel in both summer and winter. Do you want to explore creating an outstanding new home or upgrading the home you have? Schedule a consultation with us here.