News
RPA’s Scranton Passive House Certified by Passive House Institute US (PHIUS)
Scranton, PA Passive House is the 112th PHIUS-Certified Building in North America Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a full service architecture firm focused on energy efficient design, announced that its first Passive House, built in Scranton, PA, was recently certified by the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS). In order to become a certified Passive House, RPA needed to design the home to PHIUS’ rigorous energy standards. RPA’s detailed design drawings of the home were featured at PHIUS’ NAPH15 conference in September…
Is OSB Airtight?
Builders and researchers in North America and Europe report that air can leak right through oriented strand board Most builders assume — and GBA has long reported — that oriented strand board (OSB) is a good air barrier. If a builder uses a high quality tape like Siga Wigluv, Zip System tape, or 3M All Weather flashing tape to seal sheathing seams, OSB wall and roof sheathing can act as a building’s primary air barrier. Energy consultant Marc Rosenbaum used…
Turn Up the Heat by Doing Jumping Jacks
“There’s the story of the passive house in New England,” said architect Richard Pedranti, of Milford, PA. “It was minus 10, and they needed to raise the temperature, so they baked some cookies. The waste heat from baking was enough to keep the house comfortable.” The passive house may be the world’s most rigorous building standard. There are about 150 certified passive houses in North America, but there are tens of thousands in Europe, where many cities have adopted passive…
RPA Breaks Ground on first Passive House in Pike County
Local Architect Designs and Builds Energy Efficient Home in Hawley, PA Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a full service architecture firm focusing on energy efficient design, broke ground last month on what will be the first Passive House in Pike County, Pennsylvania. New to the United States but common in Europe, Passive House is today’s most energy efficient building standard. This will be the firm’s second Passive House residence in Northeast Pennsylvania. “RPA is dedicated to designing extraordinary places that are…
RPA Receives Award for High-Performance Historic Preservation Project
Pike County Historic Preservation Trust Recognizes Richard Pedranti Architect’s Restoration of Milford’s Historic Anthony Brooks Building after a Devastating Fire. A historic preservation project by Richard Pedranti Architect (RPA), a full service architecture firm focused on energy efficient design, was honored by the Pike County Historic Preservation Trust. Last night, the high-performance historic preservation of the Anthony Brooks Building, located in the heart of the Milford Pennsylvania Historic District, was awarded the Thomas W. Hoff Stewardship Medallion in recognition of…
OSB as an Air Barrier
Building codes are getting tougher about airtightness. In the 2012 International Energy Efficiency Code (IEEC), blower-door testing is required for new homes, and the limits have gotten stricter. While the 2009 code specified 7 ACH50 (7 air changes per hour at 50 pascals of pressure), the 2012 code calls for 5 ACH50 for southern homes and 3 ACH50 for homes in the northern U.S. Many builders will have to change their ways to meet the 2012 code’s requirements. But code-compliant…
Trust Honors Stewards of Historic Milford Architecture
MILFORD – Last week, at Hotel Fauchere, the Historic Preservation Trust of Pike County announced the first recipient of their new annual Stewardship Leadership awards program that recognizes community members, outstanding businesspersons and organizations responsible for outstanding restorations and preservation of Historic buildings in Pike County. This year’s recipients are for restorations in Milford Borough. The two annual prize categories are the Thomas W. Hoff Stewardship Medallion and the Richard L Snyder Distinguished Leadership Prize. The award ceremony took place…
Passive House Cuts Energy Use By Up To 90 Percent
MILFORD — The first Passive House is being built in Pike County. It is a super-insulated. Sustainable energy-efficient single-family home. The concept is to heavily insulate to reduce heating and cooling loss, reduce energy consumption 80 to 90 percent compared to a conventional home, and maintain about 72 degrees indoors year round. Architect Richard Pedranti of Milford designed the house for Tom and Lynn Keffer, who were drawn to the Passive House concept for its appeal of a clean…
