PITTSBURGH, PA — Hillcrest Residences, developed and owned by The Community Builders, Inc.(TCB), a nonprofit developer of affordable and mixed-income housing is the largest confirmed Passive House Institute U.S. certified (PHIUS) development in North America, both by square footage and number of units. The new, energy-efficient senior housing development brings 66 high-quality, apartment homes and community space to Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood.“It takes a remarkable team effort to produce such a beautiful, energy-efficient building open to seniors at all income levels.” said Jim Eby, senior project manager, TCB. Building to Passive House design standards is another milestone in our effort to help keep utility costs down and residents comfortable throughout the year.”The PHIUS certification resulted from the attention to design and construction detail by the team of Think-Little energy consultants, RDL Architects, Bluestreak engineers, and Sota Construction Services. Hillcrest’s Passive House certification shows that Passive House can be scaled up successfully to commercial scale buildings.The voluntary process adheres to rigorous energy efficiency standards that reduce a building’s ecological footprint and results in ultra-low operating costs; requiring little energy for heating or cooling. According to RDL Architects, on average Passive House developments in our climate zone consume 86% less energy on heating and 46% less energy for cooling when compared with code-compliant buildings. Passive House standards are performance-based.