For Minnesota and Beyond
Passive House Minnesota serves the state and surrounding areas. We are a group of Minnesota-based Passive House professionals, practitioners, and supporters who advocate for the international Passive House building energy standard.
Passive House Minnesota regularly engages with the community to promote better building standards, especially during the Minnesota State Fair. In 2024, we held the International Passive House Ice Box Challenge, and in 2025, we held a thermal bridge demonstration. We have also hosted Certified Passive House Tradesperson training in 2019 and 2023, and we hope to host another training soon. We are always looking for volunteers who are ready to engage with our community!
We hold regular monthly meetings online and a Happy Hour every other month. See our Substack for recordings of past meetings and updates for future meetings.
First in the Americas
Minnesota is home to the first Passive House certified building in the Americas. Completed in 2006, das BioHaus is located in the Waldsee German Language Village in Bemidji, Minnesota. The living and learning facility allows students and visitors to fully immerse themselves in German language, culture, and the study of science and sustainability. Visitors are able to measure the building’s vital signs through the use of extensive sensors, allowing them to understand the metrics that make Passive House comfortable and sustainable.
Located within climate zone 7, one of the harshest in the continental US, the walls of das BioHaus are between 8 and 20 inches thick, creating a building envelope that shields against extreme temperatures. Passive House building strategies reduced heating demands by 90%. Energy bills for the 5,000 square-foot building initially cost about $80 a month in a region known for pricey heating bills. The building’s completion represented the first step towards a better built environment in the Americas, serving as proof that Passive House can work anywhere.
das BioHaus was designed by Stephan Tanner and his team at Intep. You can read more about the project, which celebrated 20 years in April 2026, at Tanner Circle.
The EnerPHit Pilot Project
Minnesota is also home to the first cold climate Passive House EnerPHit project in the United States. The EnerPHit standard is a Passive House standard intended for refurbishment projects. It allows for flexibility to accommodate retrofitting challenges while still achieving the superior comfort and performance Passive House buildings are known for.
MinnePHit House was designed by Passive House Minnesota founder Tim Eian from TE Studio, who brought a mid-30s home into the 21st century of performance. The updates included an 800 square foot addition, improved building envelope, a new roof, and a whole-house heat recovery ventilation system with an efficiency rating of over 90%. In addition to giving a family a healthier, more comfortable, and more efficient home, MinnePHit House opened the door for more EnerPHit projects in cold climates.
You can read more about this project here.
