March 2, 2021

Passive House Goes Prefab

Growing their media offerings, the team at Passive House Accelerator have released the first edition of their magazine, entitled “Passive Goes Prefab”. It chronicles the Prefab companies working to turn high performance construction into a streamlined factory operation, delivering panelized or modular packages to job sites where they are assembled in a matter of days and create consistently airtight, high performance homes.

DOWNLOAD 'PASSIVE GOES PREFAB'

Materials in Common

As you flip through the pages, you’ll notice a similarity in many of the systems being used. Of the 18 companies profiled, the majority rely on the Pro Clima system for airtightness and vapor control. Many of these companies have been able to utilize our Smart Enclosure details to develop the assemblies optimized for their work. Although there are many variations found, here’s a breakdown of the prefab industry’s favorite materials and why they are so well suited for Prefab Passive House construction:

PREFAB INDUSTRY'S FAVORITE MATERIALS
	Solid acrylic tape for membrane seams and misc. connections. TESCON VANA is the best-in-class airtight tape for practically any situation. Prefab companies love the versatility, being able to use one tape for nearly everything, and the bluejean-like quality of VANA’s tough & durable fleece backing.	TESCON VANA intro video
	As with all membranes in the SOLITEX family, it's an airtight, monolithic, actively vapor-open WRB membrane. SOLITEX MENTO 3000 provides the greatest water resistance, durability, and UV resistance available - which makes it the first choice for prefab and panelized construction that needs to be able to take a beating during transportation.	SOLITEX MENTO 3000 intro video
	Airtight, monolithic, actively vapor-open and ruggedly durable, 4-ply weather resistive barrier, with a tear-resistant reinforcement mesh suitable for dense-packing insulation without the need for exterior sheathing. Great for blowing cellulose through the exterior of prefab panels in the shop.	SOLITEX MENTO PLUS intro video
	The interior air barrier that makes the world’s most efficient, ecological buildings possible. Loved by Prefabbers for all the same reasons as the rest of the industry. More than simply an air barrier, it’s is a one-of-a-kind smart vapor-variable membrane, and dense-pack insulation reinforcement - all in one. It protects against moisture accumulation in highly insulated walls and roofs in all North American climates and is the most airtight rated system by Passive House Institute (0.0m3/(m2*hr)	INTELLO PLUS intro video
	Take all the aspects of INTELLO PLUS (except the reinforcement layer) and include an extra robust fleece and you get INTELLO X. It offers all the value of INTELLO Plus, but in the form of a heavy-duty, commercial grade membrane suitable for up to 2 months of weather and UV exposure.	INTELLO X intro video

Watch and Learn

If you can’t wait to hear more about these manufacturers and how they are growing and developing their businesses, we have been creating videos and blog posts over the years that you need to check out: