In the news

Real Estate Report: San Francisco’s First Passive House

Where: 4564 19th Street What: New construction in Eureka Valley, this 4-bed, 5.5-bath house replaced a dilapidated house from 1912 and went to contract before it was finished, and “Pending” at $3.8M. A collaboration between Hood + Thomas Architects and Ewen Utting of ENU Construction– dubbed Equilibrium House, this luxury spec project is designed to the[…..]

LEED’ing Buildings to Salvation

L.E.E.D. – it stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The term has certainly become synonymous with conscious building standards and in a very positive way, it’s inspiring people to think about our precious resources as they build. This was long overdue. We may focus our efforts on building to Passive House standards, but[…..]

Inspired: Buildings That Repair the Planet

It was awesome. Spring recently spoke at Building Carbon Zero Marin Seminar and, well, in addition to doing a fantastic job of promoting our efforts, perspective and recent accomplishments, we all left incredibly inspired. Of particular note was a gentleman by the name of Peter Busby. He is a Managing Director for the architecture firm[…..]

What is a Passive House?

Have you ever thought about the fact that you could be, as a conscious citizen of this planet, doing everything you can to be saving it? Perhaps you regularly reuse and recycle, you compost and maybe you’ve even gone as far as to ban all plastic in your house and you’re driving a very efficient[…..]

An Entryway

“Ideas can be life changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.” -Jim Rohn The front door. I’m not sure how often people actually put thought into a front door. But really, it does warrant some attention, doesn’t it? I mean, this is one of the household elements[…..]

Concept Validation: New York Times

Well, if the New York Times writes about it…http://nyti.ms/1eNjDzR This is terrific to see. There is still lots of trepidation, as evidenced by this article, but the truth and value is in the end result. As Sloan and Jennifer, owners of the Seattle house have noted, the house’s environment is unbeatable. The quality is unmatched[…..]

What’s That Smell?

One of the hottest topics these days is “VOC’s” and really, their impact on the environment, in general, as well as on our personal environments. Do you know what a “VOC” is? Well, it’s an acronym for “Volatile Organic Compound,” and are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure in ordinary, room temperature conditions.[…..]

If Silence Golden, It Must Be a Luxury Home

So, the interior of the walls – and a good deal of the ‘magic’ found in a Passive House – is virtually hidden now. The insulation and drywall have covered up some of the most painstaking details of our work toward being highly efficient. You’ve heard us talk about our blower door test. Throughout[…..]

Sexy Windows Are Like Lingerie for Equilibrium

You may find it hard to believe, but it’s true. Windows can be sexy, particularly with an Irish accent. Last week, we installed our windows, a key component and one of the final aspects that will ensure Passive House compliance. On a passive house, all windows need to be triple-paned, but on top of that,[…..]

Home Energy Magazine: Blower Door Test

Terrific the way Home Energy Magazine has described our blower door test. It’s brilliant when people can see the magnitude of this work and what’s required to build a Passive House. Check out the link below if you’d like to check out the full story. Home Energy Magazine