Passive Design Solutions

Deigned for a build in Ontario, I a quote is given for Nova Scotia prices prepare to pay at least double for Ontario. Also with the design, we bought a pre designed home (little narrows) with modifications a 6k design quickly climes to over 14k with a floor plan they already had finished. Many mistakes in the accounting accidental charges blamed on a training exercise. Pleasant to work with, hope it’s everything we hoped it would be when it’s finished.

Having worked with this team on two projects in 2017 I found them to be a very knowledgeable and innovative group. They were fun to work with and always looking out for the home owner!

We are very happy with the experience. Natalie and Naryn were always very professional and available. They guided us during the process of the design and construction of the house. They always listened to our desires and wishes. If I had to do the project again, I would hire passive Design Solutions again.

Natalie and her team built my passive house in 2011. I can’t imagine wanting to live in any other kind of house. It is warm, bright, easy to care for, and you can’t beat paying $200 dollars a year for heating - good for the pocketbook, and good for the planet. Working with Natalie and her team was a breeze. I would highly recommend Passive Design Solutions.

We used Passive Design Solutions to oversee the design and construction of our passive house in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Natalie was extremely helpful in describing the passive house concepts, benefits and construction implications. Her breadth of knowledge and industry experience proved invaluable as we moved from early concepts through the completion of our passive home. We would recommend Passive Design Solutions without hesitation for any construction project connected with passive design.

Natalie and her team are well experienced and passionate about passive house technology. They are very professional, easy to work with and always helpful.

Natalie and her team are very knowledgeable, professional and trustworthy. We were living in Toronto when we were designing our home and I knew little about designing a Passive House, I only knew the benefits. PDS were accommodating with our timelines, open to our ideas to meet our needs while incorporating the best and economical solutions, being very aware of our budget at all times. They provided excellent guidance for making decisions to meet our design challenges and added unique characteristics to make our house a home we love.

After months of research, I hired Passive Design Solutions to design my passive house. What a great decision! These passive house pioneers are inspired designers with hands-on building experience to back it up. Their homegrown solutions to high performance design and construction result in a home that is affordable to build, and that will perform well in our climate. It has been a pleasure working with Mike and Natalie and I'm looking forward to working with them on future builds. I have great confidence in PDS and would highly recommend them to anyone.

The Passive Design Solutions team is great. I worked closely with one of their designers for months and despite all my changes, requests and questions I was never met with any negativity whatsoever, not once! They always took the time it takes to make sure I understood the project. It's wonderful to meet professionals that make collaborating this easy. Building your dream home is a once in a lifetime experience for most of us and having kind and patient professionals assisting as one sorts through all the ideas, questions and possibilities is an invaluable service. They are very knowledgeable and specialized in energy efficient building design, modelling and energy efficient construction services. They've done the ground work of sourcing the materials, techniques and builders capable of building these very special and economical buildings. If you're concerned about rising energy costs, environmental sustainability and climate change and how those factors may affect your building project, call PDS.

Early in the process of building a passive house I was impressed with the custom design work of PDS. When I got a preview of the PDS stock house plans my family found a home that met our design budget and offered much of what we sought in a custom home: thoughtful design, careful use of space, and a contemporary look matched with traditional lines that settles the house into the rural landscape. Since moving in my family has been very pleased with the comfort and efficiency of our passive house, something we will certainly enjoy for many years to come.

We recently moved to Nova Scotia to retire. Having built R-2000 previously, we were delighted to work with Natalie and her team at Passive Design to create our new custom designed home at an even higher level of energy efficiency, performance and comfort. They offered an intensive consultation approach to make sure that their design fit our needs - from pre-design through to construction, they helped us to be practical, focused, and cost-efficient, while their design team created beautiful spaces filled with light. With their extensive expertise, they offered thoughtful suggestions about the overall design approach, siting on the property, details about insulation, window exposure and glazing, their unique FastSlab construction, and engineering expertise at various stages. Combining this advice and expertise with great design and analytical capabilities (solar radiation, energy performance, vapour barrier detail, and many interior practical solutions), they helped to guide the build team to construct our house. We are delighted that this house design and construction has merited one of the highest EnerGuide scores for a new house build in Nova Scotia, achieving a .32 ACH (air exchange rate)! We would highly recommend working with Natalie and her team to create a bit of your own magic.

I am a red seal carpenter, I have been building houses with Passive Design Solutions for several years. After working with them I desided to build my own house as a Passive house. I purchased one of the companies Stock plans (North Glenn Passive House), I am very happy with it. The design is a great mix of style, economic design, function, and performance. Working with PDS on this project was very easy and helpful from day one.