A Spokane architect is among local pioneers of an energy-saving design and construction standard known as passive house.

Sam Rodell, a longtime architect, has been certified for three years as a passive-house consultant through Chicago-based Passive House Institute US, and all of his current projects are designed to meet the institute’s rigorous real-world energy-efficiency standards.

His firm is registered under its original name, Kirkwood Rodell Architects PS, but now does business as Sam Rodell Architects. He began using the new name after his wife and business partner, Calla Kirkwood, retired. The firm is based on the second level of the Steam Plant Square complex at 159 S. Lincoln downtown.

The passive-house concept began gaining steam in Germany about 15 years ago and since then has become mainstream in northern Europe, Rodell says.

In the U.S., however, it’s still relatively unknown, he says.

For one thing, the concept could have a better name, such as “high-performance design,” he asserts.

Passive house, which comes from the German word “Passivhaus,” loses some of its meaning in translation, and the concept is just as relevant for commercial projects as it is for housing construction, Rodell says.

Altogether, the passive-house design can reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 90 percent compared to standard building and energy-code requirements, Rodell asserts. After factoring in other energy consumption, including lighting, computing, and hot-water heating, the net effect can be about a 75 percent reduction in energy bills, he says.

The concept includes constructing superinsulated and airtight building envelopes; installing high-performance windows and doors; and incorporating high-efficiency hot water systems, appliances, and lighting.

The heart of the passive-house design, though, usually involves a technology called an energy-recovery ventilation system, and the main working appliance in such a system is the energy-recovery ventilator, which is about the size of a small furnace or a large microwave oven.

The ventilator distributes air through 3-inch pipes throughout the residence or building, providing a constant supply of filtered fresh air, while removing smoke particles, exhaust fumes, and allergens. An energy-recovery ventilation system typically provides eight full air exchanges daily.

“The exhaust air from our buildings is cleaner than the fresh air outside,” Rodell claims.

Incoming air and outgoing air pass each other in adjacent capillary straws, exchanging and conserving heating and cooling energy.

“Exhaust air winds up being close to the temperature of the outside air, and air coming into the building becomes very close to the temperature of the inside air,” he says.

For each project, Rodell works up a spreadsheet comparing costs of mainstream and passive-house designs.

“At this point, 100 percent of our project owners have elected to go with passive-house standards. That’s across about $12 million in construction that spans from Western Montana to Western Washington,” he says. “It’s a relatively small number, but full participation is telling.”

Rodell says he’s working on more residential projects than commercial projects, but in terms of dollar volume, they’re about equal.

“Some people have a philosophical predisposition to support this work, but everybody is interested in the financial component of it,” Rodell says. “If you have a commercial project where you can save an owner six figures a year, that money goes straight to the bottom line.”

The savings also make alternative energy sources more feasible, he says.

“Renewable energy is more expensive, but if you need a small amount of it, it’s an economically viable proposition,” he says.

Rodell asserts some customers are off the grid altogether, and some who are on the grid are net positive energy users, meaning they produce more energy than they consume.

“Even with larger residential projects, we see nominal increases in (construction) costs,” he says.

Clients find, however, that passive-house construction reduces the cost of ownership, more than compensating for the additional investment the owners might put up, Rodell asserts.

He says the cost incentives can be greater for commercial applications, and in some cases, the passive-house construction cost can be lower than mainstream construction.

“While saving energy is a great thing, there’s more to it than a more efficient building,” he says. “It’s generally much better built, and it’s going to require a lot less fussy maintenance over the years.”

Current commercial projects include a $3 million Sunshine Health Facilities Inc. administration wing addition that’s under construction at 10410 E. Ninth, in Spokane Valley.The 10,000-square-foot wing is designed to meet passive-house standards with its own thermal and ventilation systems. It will have offices, conference rooms, a commercial kitchen, and a campus laundry facility.

Rodell also designed a $2.5 million, 24,000-square-foot addition to the Sunshine Terrace assisted-living facility, located on the 7-acre Sunshine Health Facilities campus. The 58-bed assisted-living project was constructed a couple of years ago and brought that facility’s total capacity to 98 beds.

Tamarack Ridge Construction LLC, of Spokane Valley, is the contractor on both projects. The administration wing is scheduled to be completed this year.

Other contractors here with passive-house certification include Pura Vida High Performance Builders, Parsons Construction Inc., and Cronin Construction, all of Spokane, and Edwards-Smith Construction LLC, of Coeur d’Alene, according to the Passive House Institute US website.

Rodell says passive-house ratings are based on performance, rather than points.

“It’s not a symbolic achievement,” he says. “It can’t be theoretical. The only way that you achieve passive-house certification is by actually achieving standards for performance in the real world.” 

In addition to the Spokane office, Rodell has a presence in Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint, in North Idaho, and in Bozeman, Mont.

“We’re remodeling space in Coeur d’Alene,” Rodell says of the office there at 102 E. Wallace. “I want to have a physical presence there, because we do a lot of work in Idaho.”

He adds, “We have an office in Bozeman just because one of our architects moved there, and we chose not to let that end our association.”

The firm has seven employees, not counting regular consultants, interior designers, and independent contractors.

“I’m the licensed architect,” Rodell says, adding, “Within a year, there’ll be four of us.”