Passive houses are the best thing ever!

I finally got around to reading a New York Times article from September on passive houses in the US and how they're lagging far behind the passive house movement in Europe, especially Germany.

Exciting quote:

...homes using [the passive house standard] can be up to 80 percent more energy-efficient, over all, than standard new houses and consume just 10 percent of the heating and cooling energy.

The past two years, I've been involved in translating the Passivhaus Institut's annual conference proceedings, and although by the end of the month-long process I'm a little burnt out and threaten physical and/or psychological harm to anyone who dares utter the words "blower door test" or "shape factor" near me, I actually think they're really fascinating and a very important future-oriented, sustainable construction option. The upfront costs scare a lot of people away, but over time, they more than pay themselves back by saving on heat, etc. - especially since it's likely that energy prices will just keep rising.

I'm pretty sure the Brits have never heard of double-glazing [and triple-glazing is probably up there with fairies and minotaurs - the stuff of legend!]. Even when windows are completely closed here, the draft [or draught, as they call it here] still rustles the curtains. Ridiculous. The heating bills in this country must be through the [insufficiently insulated] roof.

I want a passive house when I grow up!