Passive House Arrives in North America:
Could It Revolutionize the Way We Build?

This summary is a shortened, condensed version of the Full Article.

Executive Summary

Originating in Germany twenty years ago and drawing inspiration from the superinsulation and passive solar movements in North America in the late 1970s, Passive House has migrated across the Atlantic. To date, about a dozen buildings have been certified to the Passive House standard in North America, and at least two dozen are in various stages of development. The Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) and its founder and director, German-trained architect Katrin Klingenberg, are leading the implementation of the system in the U.S.

Passive House is a quantitative, performance-based standard for ultra-low-energy buildings—both residential and commercial. The U.S.-based standard, which is virtually identical to the German Passivhaus standard, allows no more than 15 kWh/m2/yr (4,755 Btu/ft2/yr) of energy consumption for heating, the same for cooling, and total energy consumption, including lighting, appliances, and plug loads, of no more than 120 kWh/m2/yr (38,000 Btu/ft2/yr) of primary energy use, which accounts for the energy used in extracting and processing fossil fuels and generating and distribution of electricity. In addition, Passive House standards include a stringent air tightness requirement of 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 pascals pressure difference across the envelope.

While energy experts EBN spoke with like the specific targets, some argue that the Passive House standard could be improved in North America by addressing some concerns, including how the standard works in our more diverse climate, the inherent penalty against small buildings, and the difficulty of achieving Passive House performance with existing buildings.

DISCUSSIONS

Reader-contributed comments related to Passive House Arrives in North America: Could It Revolutionize the Way We Build? - EBN: 19:4. Comments are listed with newest at the top.

Passive House Consultants Posted by Roxanne Button on May 5, 2010, 08:02 AM
Great article, Alex - really enjoyed it. I've been researching Passive House and am considering doing the Consultant training program. I'm a licensed architect and LEED AP (BD+C, Homes). Wondering if you and anyone out there who has done the training program - or is considering it as well - could offer your opinion(s)?

Thanks -
Roxanne

Great to see Passive House on EBN Posted by Richard Parker on Apr 7, 2010, 02:09 PM
Alex and EBN team, We am glad to see Passive House has become part of the conversation at Environmental Building News. We value your work and reporting. 450 Architects is excited to be a part of the Passive House movement. We believe that performance based certifications like PH are going to drive the future of green building.

Thanks,

Josh Lowe and Niharika Hablani
Certified Passive House Consultant
www.450architects.com

Passive House in California Posted by Prudence Ferreira on Apr 7, 2010, 11:02 AM
Great article and so nice to see Passive House in EBN! For those of you interested in what is happening with Passive House in California. You can find our CA passive house group at www.passivehouseca.org. We hold regular monthly meetings and are planning a Bay Area Passive House tour day in October just following West Coast Green.

Prudence Ferreira
Certified Passive House Consultant
President - Passive Buildings CA

Seattle Passive House Posted by Linda Whaley on Apr 6, 2010, 02:11 PM
Excellent article Alex. I am a Passive House consultant that is blogging about Dan's project. If anyone wants to see more details of the progress of his project you can follow along at: http://existingresources.wordpress.com/ You can either scroll back through the blog postings, or if you prefer, there is a page called "Seattle Passive House From the Beginning" that is linked at the top of the page.

Thanks!

Linda Whaley
Existing Resources

[ top of page ]

	Passive House Schism Leaves U.S. in Limbo BuildingGreen.com: What's Happening - August 2011		Avoiding the Global Warming Impact of Insulation EBN: Feature - June 2010
	New "Fuel Mileage" Label for Homes EBN: What's Happening - April 2010		Serious Windows from Serious Materials EBN: Product News - November 2008

[ top of page ]