East Gables is Passive House Certified!

Valley Community Development is proud to announce that East Gables, its newly constructed apartment building at 132 Northampton Road, Amherst is now Passive House certified. This is Valley’s first development to achieve this “gold standard” for energy efficiency.

Passive House certification requires high levels of energy efficiency while also creating comfortable indoor living spaces. In the case of East Gables, the building is entirely fueled by electricity, which is offset by production from rooftop photovoltaic panels.

Key features of Passive House include a highly insulated building exterior. The photo below shows multiple layers of rigid foam insulation applied to the building foundation.

This photo shows the added layers of insulation applied to the building exterior that supplement insulation within the outside wall 2” x 6” framing.

Windows for East Gables have three layers of glass and are surrounded by a “thermal buck” that prevents infiltration and conductivity around the window.

High efficiency mechanical systems for heat, cooling, and hot water at East Gables all rely upon heat pump technology. To ensure good indoor air quality, the building supplies continuous mechanical fresh air to all areas via Energy Recovery Ventilators.