“Vampire” energy sounds like when Dracula drinks from wall outlets, not neck veins. In reality, it’s just wasted energy by unused chargers, surge protectors, and even candle warmers. It’s estimated a building wastes 40% of its energy on vampire energy.

For the environmentally conscious, vampire energy is only a drop in the bucket. Many other energy-wasting aspects of our homes deserve addressing. Much of this energy wastage simply comes from bad design – designs we can change.

What are some passive house designs that help you be more sustainable? Let’s take a look at eight specific ones you can and should invest in. 

1. Passive Solar Home

Perhaps the best and most no-nonsense way to make your home more sustainable is with solar. Once you install solar panels, they work more or less hands-off. You dust them off every couple of months and schedule bi-annual maintenance, and that’s it.

In the meantime, they contribute green electricity to your energy usage needs. Some people are able to achieve a net zero home using solar panels and sell excess volts back to the grid. 

Custom solar energy solutions allow you to build a solar system that’s perfect for your needs. You can invest in popular add-ons like solar batteries, or newer, higher-efficiency panels. Solar panels are easy to upgrade as your budget for them changes.

2. Heat Pump Heating and Cooling

The next big upgrade you can and should make is a heat pump. These are exploding in popularity across the US for their efficiency. It may not give you renewable energy, like geothermal, but it will massively cut down on your utility bill.

A heat pump uses thermodynamics to avoid heating or cooling air at its most extreme temperature. It uses existing heat or cold, such as the cool ground beneath your home. This action results in exceptional energy savings and efficiency.

3. Super Insulation

The next step and sustainable living is improving your insulation. Obviously, this will be difficult for an existing home. However, for a new build, or one undergoing renovations, this is a must-have.

The focus here is to create comprehensive insulation that surrounds your entire home, or “shell.” In most cases, this means doubling up the regulated requirement for insulation. You should also go for environmentally friendly insulation such as cellulose or sheep’s wool if you can afford it.

Improving your insulation gives you exceptional thermal control, cutting down on energy usage.

4. Airtight Shell Design

Following the previous point, making sure your home is airtight is also critical to thermal control. You need to patch up any holes, no matter how small, which could be leaking out treated air.

In addition to this, you may need to rework your outside-facing doors. Either install better seals or replace the doors entirely to prevent leakage at these locations.

5. Thermal Bridge Removal

Thermal bridges are just segments of your home where insulation is thinner than in the surrounding area. These are problematic because they ruin the thermal control of an area. For example, a thermal bridge in the roof wastes all the heat your home generates during winter to keep warm.

This one is much easier than replacing all of the insulation. A skilled expert uses a thermal reader to deduce where the thermal bridges are. Then, they bulk up those areas to prevent further leakage.

6. Better Windows

It’s key to your sanity to have windows with natural light. That said, windows can also be big energy wasters. Like doors, they can have subpar seals that leak air.

The biggest concern with windows, though, is that many are only single or double-pane. More panes allow for better insulation, so triple-pane windows are the best. 

Aside from this, you also want to UV-treat your windows. Install light-reactive window tints to keep heat out in the summer and prevent indoor sunburns.

If this is a new build, then consider carefully the orientation of the home. For example, you want south-facing windows to have a high solar heat gain coefficient. When winter comes, the low-angle winter sun won’t be lost and will heat your home.

7. Landscaping 

Many people fail to realize landscaping could be working against them. A perfect example is not planting trees to naturally shade your house. Big deciduous trees with widespread canopies, for example, can massively cut down on summer cooling costs.

This being said, you don’t want to cover your entire home in tree shade. Winter could become especially frigid if you can’t take advantage of natural solar heating when it’s there. 

It’s also important not to form a heat island around your home. Concrete and asphalt, for example, suck up the heat during the day and emit it during the night. This could result in an unbearably hot home in the summer, one that costs more to cool down.

Pave your driveway and sidewalks with materials that don’t absorb as much heat. Try to go for natural coverings as much as possible, such as lawns or a garden. Having a gravel yard may be low maintenance, sure, but choosing the wrong type of gravel could make it into an unintended heat island.

8. Mechanical Ventilation

Opening the windows is nice when the weather is good. In most cases, though, you won’t be opening your windows more than a few times a year. So now you have a problem: a heavily insulated and airtight home that can’t ventilate easily.

Getting a ventilation system that isn’t running heating or cooling is essential. You need filtered, free-flowing air without a huge hit to your utility bill. Houses built for sustainable living have such a system, including features like heat and energy recovery.

Find Other Passive House Designs

Passive house designs allow your home to be more sustainable beyond your everyday efforts to cut carbon emissions. Most of these things are simple upgrades; new windows, new doors, and a reduction in thermal bridges. Others are more expensive and labor-intensive, such as new insulation and solar panels, but they may be worth it.

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