This blog is about the design and construction of our vacation home in Kanab, Utah. We love hiking, we love the red rocks, we love the nearby National Parks, and decided we wanted to spend more time there. So after more than a year of scouting for the right location, we bought a lot in June 2022. Now our plans are ready, and we hope to get the building permit and start construction soon.

Kanab is a small town in the very south of Utah, minutes from Arizona. It’s situated in a beautiful location, surrounded by red cliffs, and the nearby scenery is featured in more than 100 movies and television shows. Kanab is also home to Best Friends Animal Society, the nation’s largest sanctuary for homeless animals.

For us, Kanab is an easy five hours drive straight south from Salt Lake City: two hours on highway followed by three hours on smaller, scenic roads. It’s warmer, has less snow, and more sunny days (256 vs 222).

It took us a while to find the right lot. Some of what we were looking for:

Views: Almost any lot in Kanab will have a view of red rocks in the distance. Far views are nice, but we wanted more spectacular views, closer to the rocks.

Internet: We want to be able to work while we’re there, and people who rent it will also want to stay connected. Fast internet is a must. That ruled out options in the wilderness; closer to town, gigabit internet is available.

The term ‘passive house’ may easily give the wrong impression of being 100% passive. A passive house improves and emphasizes the static components and design of a house (walls, windows, insulation, orientation) so that the active components (heating, cooling) can be minimized. This results in significant energy savings as well as improvements in comfort.

My brother Bjørn Kierulf at Createrra has built over 100 passive houses in Slovakia and elsewhere in Europe, so when we started this project, it was natural that we would build this way. I’m not an expert, but have been learning a lot, so I want to give a layman’s overview on how to design and build a passive house.