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Ossining resident Daniel Colombini was honored with a 2024 US Department of Energy Housing Innovation Award for his "passive house," according to Goldman Copeland, the New York City-based consulting engineering firm where he is a Principal.
Colombini's house is one of only 24 in the country to receive the honor and one of only two in New York. The other is located in the Ulster County town of Esopus.
According to the DOE, the award honors those "who are spurring the housing industry to construct more efficient, healthy, and resilient homes."
"Housing Innovation Award winners are selected by a panel of industry professionals. Projects are judged on various criteria that reflect DOE decarbonization goals with respect to energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions, resiliency, and workforce development," officials said.
According to the firm, Colombini's home meets "Passive House" specifications, the only internationally recognized, performance-based energy standard in construction. It also meets the LEED Platinum certification, meaning that it demonstrates the highest levels of energy-efficient and green design.
To create the passive house, Colombini tore down the original home to its foundation, which he kept. He then resued 75 percent of the home's original materials in creating a house that included high-performance thermal enclosure; airtightness and heat recovery; continuous balanced ventilation; high-performance glazing of windows and doors; shading and daylighting; and moisture control.
The design was so effective in creating good-quality air inside the home that it stopped Colombini's allergy-induced asthma, the firm said.
The cost to build such an energy-efficient home was 8 percent more than a traditional house, members of the firm added. It was designed by architect Christina Griffin of CGA Studio in Hastings-on-Hudson. The project's contractor was Ed Nugent of Fort Montgomery.
"Energy-efficient and green design is vital, given the challenges of climate change," Colombini said of his award-winning residence, adding, "This house provides the home that my family wanted, while demonstrating that the highest standards can be attained cost-effectively."
"I’m excited that it has been honored by the US Department of Energy and now provides a model for the nation," Colombini continued.
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