Growing wildfire devastation demands better-protected buildings – better protected by building design and better design of their surrounding landscape. Yet, after fire events, like in Los Angeles, there is a need to rebuild quickly. Just build it back, the thinking goes, but we can do better. Let’s build forward with fire-safe strategies integrated with Passive House building design to drive down our dependence on fossil fuels, protect people’s health, and…
Passive House California wishes you a joyful and prosperous New Year 2025! We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our members and sponsors for your incredible support. Here’s to a new year filled with many more high-performance building projects in California that make a lasting impact. We’re looking forward to connecting with you at one of our upcoming community meetings in 2025!
The PG&E Energy Center is pleased to offer the Certified Passive House Designer/Consultant training and certification presented by The Passive House Network (PHN). This course is the premier Passive House professional training for architects, engineers, and building professionals and is supported by the 30-year history of global technical leadership of the Passive House Institute. The upcoming Winter Cohort starts on Monday, January 13, 2025, with an exam scheduled on Thursday, April 3,…
When Dr. Wolfgang Feist completed the first Passive House in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1991, he laid the foundation for a movement that would change how we understand and implement building science forever. Since then, over 4 million square meters of buildings have been certified to Passive House Standard worldwide, and there’s more on the way. We're confident that the Passive House movement will become even stronger over the next few years. Read…
Description: Effective July 1, 2024, the Appendix M, Peak Water Demand Calculator (WDC) became part of the California Plumbing Code. Instead of using flow rates and flush volumes from the 1940s, the WDC will allow you to “right-size” the cold and hot water distribution systems in homes and apartment buildings using modern information about flow rates and simultaneous use. Does this sound like a snoozer? Actually, it is an environmentally responsible…
Climate Action California Needs Your Help - Together, we can make a difference! Passive House California (PHCA) is backing the Climate Action California proposal to integrate the global Passive House construction standard into California’s Energy Building Code Title 24. This move would allow the Passive House Standard to be incorporated into the code as an alternative compliance pathway, enabling the establishment of an ambitious, climate-conscious reach code. This approach represents…
Presentation Description Building high performance buildings, up to and including Passive House certified, means we need to ‘Build Airtight and Ventilate Right’. This presentation discusses the importance and benefits of properly balanced, filtered, continuous ventilation with heat recovery in high performance projects. By using mechanical heat recovery ventilation (HRV) and energy recovery ventilation (ERV) systems to provide oxygenated fresh air to occupants, we can control how much air is brought…
Description: This presentation will share information on the performance-based design, modeling, and construction of a Passive House in Morongo Valley California. The nearly completed home will provide comfort, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and resilience in dealing with both extreme heat in summer and below freezing winter temperatures. The Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) incorporates iterative modeling that enables cost effective achievement of desired performance goals. In addition to the…
Most houses are built with a surplus of wood framing that isn't structurally necessary. Reducing that volume of wood means less cost and more insulation, especially in wall assemblies. The course will go over the basics of wood framing, then take you beyond typical framing practices and why alternatives are important. We'll cover framing technical terms like "O.C.," Cripple, Trimmer, etc. and delve into alternative systems such as Structural Insulated…
Passive House California (PHCA) offers a $250 discount on Passive House Designer/Consultant (CPHD/C) & $500 Passive House Tradesperson (CPHT) training courses to qualifying individuals. Provide proof of California residency or employment. Contact us at training@passivehousenetwork.org FIND OUT MORE
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