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The future homeowners of what's expected to be the first Passive House in South Lake Tahoe are currently weekend warriors who head up to Tahoe when they can spare time from their busy lives in the Bay Area. They look forward to full-time residence in Tahoe once their new home, an Angora Fire rebuild, is completed in 2014. Sitting near the flanks of Mt. Tallac, their new homestead will be perfectly placed for regular excursions into the mountains.

Previously a sheet metal workshop and office, this building is getting a complete makeover and major addition. The future office development is expected to be the first non-residential Passive House building in California and the first in Palo Alto to harvest rainwater for toilet flushing.

Winning Best New Home of 2013 and labeled “Passive House Perfection” by Fine Homebuilding, this 1600-square foot farmhouse achieves the highest performance standards without sacrificing aesthetic standards. The owners “learned that good design and modern aesthetics were compatible with the kind of energy we were seeking and we couldn’t be more pleased.”

Designed to seamlessly blend with the stunning Sea Ranch cliffline, the Agnew Residence boasts elegance and environmental sensitivity. The project achieved LEED Platinum certification with an emphasis on a high-performance building envelope, condensing boiler for in-floor radiant hydronic heating, 100% high-efficiency lighting and appliances, sustainable materials, and low-impact landscaping.

The builder has completed a gut rehab of the original home on this lot and is now underway with a new second unit. Features include Advanced Framing (resource-efficient structural design), underslab insulation, elimination of thermal bridges at the slab edge, and superinsulation in the walls.

This is Clarum Home's second completed Passive House, which was substantially complete in early 2013. Learn more about the project here.