Passive House Design Challenge

The Challenge: Dispel Misperceptions about Passive House Construction​ Costs

Passive House standards provide a framework for the construction of exceptionally low energy, resilient, healthy, and comfortable buildings. However, as of 2019, there was only one certified Passive House multifamily building in Massachusetts and little data was available on the cost of building to Passive House standards.​

About the Passive House Design Challenge

MassCEC sought to demonstrate that multi-family affordable housing that meets Passive House standards can be built at a low- to no-cost premium in Massachusetts. The Passive House Design Challenge made awards of up to $4,000 per unit for eight new-construction, affordable housing developments that were seeking Massachusetts Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC).  The goal of the program has been to demonstrate that new construction can be built to Passive House standards with a cost premium of less than 3%.​

Program Accomplishments

• As of July 2022, five of the eight awardees' projects are occupied and the remaining three are under construction. 

• While not all incremental costs have been finalized, most projects appear to have incremental costs under 3%.​

• The Design Challenge's incentive structure informed Mass Save's® incentives for Passive House multifamily new construction.

• As of December 2022, 152 multifamily buildings with over 10,000 units were on the path to construction and to certifying to the Passive House Standard.

• The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) published a paper by MassCEC and ICF, "Scaling Up Passive House Multifamily: The Massachusetts Story."