Westchester's First LEED Platinum 'Passive House'

OSSINING, NY — A member of New York City-based consulting engineering firm Goldman Copeland has created the first LEED Platinum "Passive House" in Westchester County.

Daniel Colombini, a principal at the firm, created a single-family three-bedroom home in Ossining that is a model for sustainable, energy-efficient, and cost-effective residences.

“Energy-efficient and green design is vital, given the challenges of climate change,” Colombini said. “This house provides the home that my family wanted, while demonstrating that the highest standards can be attained cost-effectively. I hope that it provides an example that can benefit Westchester, New York, and the nation.”

Colombini set out to create a new standard of suburban housing.

The high-performance building standard was developed by the Passive House Institute and is the only internationally recognized, performance-based energy standard in construction. LEED is the world's most widely used green building rating system, and LEED Platinum is its highest certification.

The combination of LEED Platinum and “Passive House” certifications shows that the house meets the highest levels of energy-efficient and green design. The house is also “Zero Energy” – as certified by the US Department of Energy – and is both net zero and carbon neutral, including the home’s energy consumption and electric vehicle charging.

Colombini tore down the house he originally purchased, retaining the foundation — plus 75 percent of the materials in the old house were reused and thereby diverted from landfill.

The new house incorporates passive house principles including a high-performance thermal enclosure, airtightness and heat recovery, continuous balanced ventilation, high-performance glazing of windows and doors, shading and daylighting, and moisture control.

The overall design provides an air quality that is so high his allergy-induced asthma disappeared.

The cost of construction was 8 percent higher than a traditional house; however, that additional cost will be paid off by energy savings within 10-15 years — with energy savings continuing to accrue thereafter.

The house, with an attached garage and about 3,500 square feet of living space, is on Spring Valley Road adjacent to the Teatown nature preserve.

All new planting and landscaping consists of native species, designed to improve storm water management and mitigate invasive species. The landscape designer was selected in part because she also works with Teatown, ensuring sensitivity in design to the landscape of the nature preserve.

“The Colombini house is a landmark project in Westchester,” said architect Christina Griffin of CGA Studio in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY. . “Not only does it reach the highest standards of energy efficiency and sustainability, but it demonstrates that they can be attained at an additional cost that can be recouped through energy savings in about a decade – far less than the period of a typical home mortgage.”

The contractor was Ed Nugent of Fort Montgomery, NY. The certification consultant was Integral Building + Design in New Paltz, NY. The landscape designer was Barbara Restaino of Restaino Design in Grahamsville, NY.