Passive houses aggressively reduce energy

Heat your home by throwing a dinner party?

This concept may sound bizarre, but it’s feasible in cutting-edge green homes that are so well-insulated, they don’t need a furnace or boiler. They’ll stay warm simply with body heat. A hairdryer might also suffice.
A passive house under construction in Bethesda, Md., has eight inches of extruded closed-cell polystyrene foam sandwiched between sheets of oriented strand board.

"It’s like living in a glass thermos," says John Eckfeldt, a physician who built one of these "passive" homes in frigid Isabella, Minn. He says the inside temperature is so even that if he sees snow falling, he’s surprised to realize it must be cold outside.

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY

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