Energy savings of passive houses continue inside with cellular shades

California's first retrofitted house using passive house specifications – and one of the first of its kind in the U.S. – will be open for public tours later this month.


According to Interior Design magazine, the O'Neill Passive House in Sonoma, California, was retrofitted by replacing its existing heating and cooling system with passive, ultra-low energy standards. Those standards even exceed the energy benchmarks set by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council, which administers a broad program meeting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
 

Passive energy houses are created by installing high levels of insulation, efficient windows, airtight construction and heat recovery ventilation systems.


The 50-year-old O'Neill house will be open for tours on October 23 and 24.


Continuing the passive approach inside a home can include using eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient designs in window treatments. Cellular shades are a good choice for energy savings, because they offer good insulation from window drafts and strong sunlight. They come as both single cell shades or double cell shades, with double cells offering more insulation for rooms that need more protection from the elements.