Thank you for the compliments about the house-especially the part about traditional design. That is EXACTLY what was the motivation for the design: create a high-performance house without having it look like a science project. It's nice that you noticed!

The house was designed to LEED for Home requirements. It received a LEED Platinum designation. Whether or not it would meet the Passive House standards I am not sure, but my guess is that it would. The house has operated at better than net zero since it was commissioned. In other words, at the end of a yearly cycle the owners have actually made some money with the excess PV energy they generate and sell to the electric utility.

In general the exterior walls are about 12 inches thick and are double studded with inner and outer walls of 2 x 4's. 1/2-pound urethane foam is the primary insulation. The house was designed to be constructed using conventional construction methods and materials to the greatest extent possible. Not only was the house to look traditional when finished, it was designed to be built using ordinary means of construction.

Hope this answers your questions adequately. Get back to me if you need more info.