Passive Design Solutions | Architecture, Engineering, and Energy Consulting - Truro, Nova Scotia

Richard Donald

Just wrapping up a house design process with PDS: Extremely happy with the process, the costs and the final product. Both Mike and Natalie were attentive listeners while bringing a lot of great advice, skill and experience to our house design. Outstanding service.

Healing Circle

My partner Vic and I are well on our way to breaking ground for our new passive house. Thanks to the excellent care, thoughtfulness and professionalism of the folks at Passive Design Solutions (with a special shout-out to Naryn for his wise and patient guidance), we will soon be living in our dream home. Excited!

Bruce Wright

When we were looking to build an energy efficient house we found Passive Design Solutions. From the first email contact through to the finished product, the team was with us all the way.

They listened to our wishes, clearly explained the passive home concept and helped us find a builder. We cannot say enough about the open and very prompt communications with Passive Design Solutions. To our delight, the heating costs have gone down by two thirds from those of our previous ICF constructed home.

We unreservedly recommend Passive Design Solutions

Angie Eaton

When I decided to build my retirement home I knew I wanted to build the most energy efficient home I could with minimal environmental impact. Once I decided on a passive home I quickly realized that the most accredited and knowledgeable firm in the field was Passive Design Solutions. Initially, I meant to hire them simply to consult on my project, but after some research I concluded that their fully integrated service offering from architectural design through to construction support, was both financially smart for me and would hopefully provide the most positive project outcome. I could not be happier with this decision. The team at PDS are highly professional and approachable, have comprehensive energy efficiency knowledge and are passionate and committed to the rigorous principles of Passive house. They have seamlessly weaved the technical /engineering side of energy efficiency into my custom design requirements at every step. The teams' communication and patience throughout the design process has been exemplary. They are pragmatic and budget conscious yet are creative and open-minded to out of the box ideas. They respond quickly to questions/concerns and are humble in this regard. There have been many healthy discussions, with challenges to some ideas as well - which I believe is critical in such a working relationship. I have recently begun the construction phase of my project and feel strongly that the integrity and commitment demonstrated by the team at PDS will be integral to the successful completion of my home. I would unequivocally recommend their services especially to anyone wanting to work closely on their project with a down to earth team with exceptional technical knowledge and skills.

Celes Davar

We moved into a Passive Design Solutions designed home about a year and a half ago in rural Nova Scotia. We chose the Glengarry House plan; the energy performance of this thermally efficient home in all seasons has been a delight. Through concept to design to details, the team at Passive Design Solutions worked hard to understand what we wanted, and helped to ensure that the design would really meet our needs. We highly recommend working with Passive Design Solutions to create the reality of a beautiful, functional, and energy efficient home. - Sue and Celes Davar

Fraser Turner

Mike was fantastic to work with, from the design stage right to the final walkthrough.

We had certain "inspiration ideas" that we started with, and he quickly modelled exactly what we were thinking, but also gave variations on the design as alternative (and in the end much smarter!) options. He consistently respected our views, while bringing experience and insight into the process.

Our builder mentioned that they were very pleased at the excellent communication, as part of the building support contract Passive Design offers. They promptly answered questions large and small, and helped navigate a difficult section of the build where the 1-storey and 2-storey sections meet.

The performance of the house has been better than expected, and as a result our solar panels are over-producing for our needs; allowing us to run an Electric Vehicle for commuting along with providing all of the power needs for the home!

Very happy with our experience with the entire team! Also note that there are rebates available through Genworth (mortgage insurance), that meant thousands of dollars on top of government incentives given the end performance of our house.

Gus van Helvoort

Yes, I received the company update, but this time it came with pictures! What a handsome bunch and so deserving of your company's growth and success. From our side, it has and continues to be a real pleasure working with "the team" as we collectively create a home that is in tune with the surroundings and is energy efficient. A special thanks to Zane for his patience, knowledge and input during the design phase. We are looking forward to starting construction in the spring.

JanetMac MacLeod

I have a great experience with a custom design for my small, very energy-efficient house that will start construction in July. Mike was very responsive to the changes & additions I wanted. He also got the plans out to all the contractors I was taking bids from in a timely manner. I’m very glad I followed my friend John’s suggestion to use them.