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An established green building standard, cutting-edge technology and a research-driven design are being used to create a unique duplex in Southeast Portland.

Because one side of 鈥淭rekHaus鈥� is being built to typical Passive House building standards, it will serve as the control; meanwhile, the other side will feature an innovative technology that moderates interior temperatures, particularly during hot days. The experimental side of the duplex will test a wax-like, phase-change material in most interior walls on the second floor.

Overheating is a relatively common complaint among occupants of homes built to the super-insulated Passive House standards, but PCM may improve thermal comfort. The material, which is encased in small packets, becomes solid during cooler hours and melts during warmer hours. TrekHaus will test how much this process impacts residents’ comfort.

Researchers from the Green Building Research Lab at Portland State University, who partnered in project design and construction, are preparing to test thermal comfort and many other elements, according to David Sailor, director of the GBRL.

Homeowners Ella Wong and Randy Hayslip have worked extensively with architect Rob Hawthorne, owner of PDX Living, and Bart Bergquist of Willamette Valley Remodeling to design and build the mirror-image, net-zero-energy townhomes scheduled for completion in early October.

The project incorporates a complex monitoring scheme, including moisture sensors in the walls, heat flux monitoring in the exposed slab, and sensors for indoor air and wall temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide. GBRL researchers and students will collect home performance data for a year, and then analyze what it reveals about the Passive House standard and the specific materials involved in the project.

鈥淏y combining this suite of sensors with a whole-building energy computer simulation we will truly gain insight into how the basic Passive House design is performing as well as the extent to which PCM is able to improve the indoor thermal comfort of the building,鈥� said David Sailor, director of the GBRL and a PSU professor.