Three Types of Filters that Help your Zehnder HRV to Keep Indoor Air Clean

By Passive House California , September 15, 2021 - Member News

From the moment outside air enters the system, a Zehnder system (and its filters) are designed to keep air contaminants from entering your home, while efficiently recovering heat (or cooling) from the air exiting your home. Do you know every level of filtration available to you for your Zehnder recovery ventilator? If you’ve recently installed one of these units, or purchased a house that included one already, you hopefully know…

Passive House is an International Building Standard

By BEST Techs Contracting Design Build Remodel, Inc. , August 8, 2021 - Member News

Passive House is an International building standard that is calculated through a software program that is strictly for the climate zone you are planning on building in. The PH Standards focus on 5 basic principles. Un-interrupted Continuous Insulation around the Whole Building Envelope Airtight Building Envelope Thermal Bridge Free Really good windows with proper U factors and Solar Heat Gain Coefficients Balanced Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery Once I learned…

INTERNATIONAL PASSIVE HOUSE OPEN DAYS – Passsive House Los Angeles

By Passive House California , June 25, 2021 - Member News

The International Passive House Open Days are a great opportunity to learn about Passive House buildings in your area. PARAVANT Architects is hosting an informal virtual open house Questions & Answers ZOOM meeting on Saturday June 26th, 2021 from 10:30 - 12:00pm. Do you have questions -  join any time the conversation with Architect Christian Kienapfel ! CLICK HERE to see pictures and detailed information about our Los Angeles Passive…

Treehugger | The Passive House Institute has a new campaign to promote energy efficient buildings.

By Passive House California , June 8, 2021 - Member News

The International Passive House Association (iPHA) launched a campaign—"Efficiency: The First Renewable Energy"—with the goal "to raise awareness for the vital role energy efficiency in buildings plays in meeting our climate goals." The iPHA is a global network of 22 affiliate organizations promoting the concept of Passive House; it has been promoting energy efficiency for its entire existence—it is the raison d'être of the movement. The new campaign raised some…

Passive House Residential Ventilation in California

By Passive House California , April 23, 2021 - Indoor Air Quality, Member News, News, Ventilation

Passive House residential ventilation seems like a fairly straightforward topic on the surface. You install a whole-house heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) or energy-recovery ventilator (ERV), exhausting stale air from the wet areas of the house and supplying fresh air to the primary living and sleeping areas. (I’ll use the term HRV to represent both types of equipment throughout the remainder of this article). Unfortunately, the Passive House design guidelines don’t always…

We want to see your Passive House Projects in California

By Passive House California , April 22, 2021 - Member News, Project Tours

We want to know about your Passive House (PHI) building or project located here in California — in planning, under construction or recently completed. Passive House California (PHCA) wants to spread the good news about the Momentum we are seeing on the West Coast in recent months. Here is how you can contribute and be part of the movement. Provide us with a virtual video tour of your completed Passive House building. Provide us with a virtual…

Certified passive home in SLO has built-in efficiency

By Passive House California , February 26, 2021 - Member News

Article in "New Times San Luis Obispo" (SLO) written by Karen Garcia features Passive House California (PHCA) member Michael Horgan (Certified Passive House Consultant) and Hannah McKay (Certified Passive House Consultant) from CAIRIN Collaborative. In the quiet neighborhood adjacent to Bishop Peak, a small crew is constructing a home slated to be passive house certified. According to the Passive House Institute, this type of home or building is created for energy…

Interview with Bronwyn Barry: Women Driving the Passive House Industry

By Irina Tehrani , October 29, 2020 - Member News, News

Women Driving the Passive House Industry is iPHA’s newest interview series which aims to highlight the remarkable women working in the Passive House community. The iPHA team interviewed a handful of the many women who’ve contributed substantially to the growth of the Passive House Standard around the world. Here’s our fourth interview featuring Bronwyn Barry the founder of Passive House California. CLICK HERE TO READ THE INTERVIEW

Advocates for efficient homes set a goal of building 1,000 units in Monterey County by 2030.

By Passive House California , October 15, 2020 - Member News

Article in the Monterey County Weekly features Sky Ranch Passive House written by Pam Marino, photo by Parker Seibold. When Jay Gentry was a young man he thought he was called to the ministry, but it didn’t quite work out as a career choice. Yet Gentry is a natural evangelist, and today he preaches but not from a pulpit. His message is about the need to combat the climate crisis through building…