The first of group of Passive House certified homes, the Stables, will be ready for occupancy in spring of 2013 in Philadelphia. The row of passive house single-family townhomes is being developed by Onion Flats group who says the purpose of this project was to provide people with high-quality sustainable design and homes consuming up to 90 percent less energy. The project will also be net zero energy and will take advantages of solar technologies to supplement its already low energy demands.

The homes are built to Passive House standards. The super energy efficiency will be reached by combining many factors together designed to lead to super air tight and efficient envelopes. Special attention was paid to creating a building that uses a minimum of resources, generating its own power from a 4.23 kilowatt solar array, and includes a 95 percent permeable site including green roofs and porous paving for managing storm water. Super insulated walls (R-34) and roofs (R-52) combined with triple pane super-efficient Intus Windows and doors (R-8) play a huge role, says Timothy McDonald, a principal at Onion Flats.

An energy monitoring system installation in every house will help homeowners to be a part of the ongoing process and follow energy consumption in their home.