Harwinton house certified for energy efficiency

HARWINTON, Conn. (AP) — The builder of a house in Litchfield County says it is the first in the state to be certified as a "passive house" by an international group for its high level of energy efficiency.

The recently completed house in Harwinton was certified by the Germany-based International Passive House Institute to meet its standards for energy use and air leakage.

The house was designed by Jamie Wolf, whose Wolfworks firm is based in Avon. He says the house will need the equivalent of only a couple of blow dryers for power because it will slow energy loss so dramatically and capture energy from the sun and equipment in the home.

Tens of thousands of houses have been built to "passive house" standards in Europe over the past two decades.