Prefabrication design and construction firm Plant Prefab has made its first foray into passive house design with the launch of Passive House LivingHomes, a series of three home models—RPA LivingHome 1, 2, and 3—created in partnership with Richard Pedranti Architect.
The Passive House LivingHomes range from three to four bedrooms and 2,218 to 3,182 square feet in size. RPA LivingHomes 1 and 2 feature pitched roofs designed for photovoltaic solar panel placement, while RPA LivingHome 3 features a layout inspired by mid-century Californian home design. All designs feature open-plan living areas with large windows.
“Plant Prefab is focused on building homes that are as healthy and sustainable as possible, and we push the boundaries," explains founder and CEO Steve Glenn. "We use the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes program as well as our own stringent health and sustainability program, Z6, to create some of the world's healthiest homes with the lowest possible impact on the planet. Passive House is another major environmental certification program, and it integrates uncompromising standards for occupant health, comfort, and energy performance. We are honored to be partnering with one of the nation's foremost passive house experts and most experienced passive house designers to introduce our first Passive House LivingHomes.”
To meet the standards set out through Passive House International and the Passive House Institute US, the Passive House LivingHomes feature high-performance insulation, windows, and doors; an airtight envelope; balanced ventilation and a dedicated fresh air system; a heat recovery ventilator; and proper solar orientation. This allows the home to use 80% less energy for heating and cooling than a traditionally built home.
Like all of Plant Prefab’s LivingHomes, the RPA LivingHomes also are designed to meet net-zero energy standards, with smart home technology and energy monitoring systems included. Each home is constructed with Plant Prefab’s Plant Building System, which uses a combination of modules and panels to provide greater flexibility and reduce transportation costs.
“In over a decade of designing and building passive houses, the RPA LivingHome designs from Plant Prefab offer the most complete passive house products that I’ve seen on the market. Additionally, by using the Plant Building System—Plant’s comprehensive and flexible off-site building platform—we were able to design custom, high-performance homes with passive house-level envelopes and sustainable finishes,” says Pedranti, founder and principal of Richard Pedranti Architect. “The RPA LivingHomes are designed and delivered complete with all finishes, fixtures, electrical, and mechanical systems, providing the client a simple and efficient passive house building solution.”
The RPA LivingHomes are priced starting from $586,256, including finishes, fixtures, appliances, and technology.
