1.13 What is a Passive House with Beate Kirmse

Beate Kirmse is a fellow Green Realtor in Palos Verdes, orinally from Germany.  After working with architects and contractors as an energy and green building consultant for a few years, she became a Realtor® and got her Green Realtor designation.  In addition, she is also a LEED AP Homes, WELL AP, and Certified Passive House Consultant. Originally, Beate thought about green homes to be how the building should be anyway, saving resources like water and energy, wondering why we had to make it into a label or niche product.  In her mind, green building is just knowing how to build a good building.  When she and her husband decided to renovate their 1948 ranch style house in Palos Verdes Peninsula, they wanted to use hempcrete, the non-toxic and organic building material made of hemp, and soon learned these good products are still not as understood.  Benefits of using hempcrete other than being non-toxic and organic are that it makes great insulation, which keeps the house healthy and comfortable.  So for people who are highly sensitive, this is a huge benefit.    Beate is also a certified Passive House Consultant.  “Passive” in passive house really means using as little mechanical systems as possible to keep the interior comfortable by focusing on the envelope of the house: i.e., roof, walls, and floors.  By following passive house system, you’ll only need a tiny air conditioning or heater to keep the temperature in your home always comfortable and constant.  It really cuts down the mechanical and creates a very energy efficient house.  If you wrap your house around right, then you have a very comfortable and healthy home.  Beate also installed the Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system, which circulates fresh air all day in the house contributing to being healthy home. Find Beate at KirmseHomes.com.