Passivehaus opportunities (and snags)
Passive house technologies MUST be treated as parts of a system!
For example, part of the efficiency gain results from control of ventilation and air leakage from the building. Checking for leaks is easy at construction. Fixing them, then or later, can be a nightmare!
And controlled ventilation, requiring 'mechanical heat recovery' involving heat-exchangers or air-source heat pumps, is not just a 'fit and forget' option. These components become part of the 'house system' and need maintenance, controls, etc., (just like every other energy-related component!).
The problem with that is that the guy doing the maintenance needs a whole range of new topics in his skill-set!
the guy doing the maintenance needs a whole range
True enough. And some of the guys doing the maintenance, even with non-passive houses, may have the necessary range of skills. But many will be the cheapest knuckle-dragging handy man in the yellow pages with no tools except perhaps a Channel Lock plier. Or maybe not even in the yellow pages, but advertising on late-night local television. Or maybe spamming his wares to all the fax machines in the area.
So how is the average customer to find maintenance guys who have the required skills? It is all very well to say to come to this site and click on Find a Professional, but I doubt many people even know about this site. And even if they do, it is difficult to find a professional in any given locality such as near me. So I am reduced to the Internet and the Yellow Pages, and that is like throwing darts at a target in a darkened room.
