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…
The International Passive House Association (iPHA) and the Passive House Institute (PHI) regularly release fact sheets on topics related to Passive House design and implementation. These concise, expertly crafted documents are published on Passipedia, a comprehensive resource for Passive House knowledge. The latest publication, "Extractor Hoods in Passive House and EnerPHit Homes" (Fact Sheet #33/2024), addresses kitchen ventilation. Your Passive House California (PHCA) membership includes an International Passive House Association…
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…
We're glad to share that your IP-PHPP 10 has been updated to verison 10.6! The PHPP 10 manual is now also available in imperial units, special thanks to Steve Mann from Home Energy Services for handling the conversion and his helpful feedback. EasyPH has been updated as part of the PHPP bundle. You can find the newest version of the PHPP Tools file (and easy PH) in the Download section of the…
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…
The Fall 2024 Passive House Accelerator Magazine is out now! You can download it for free by following the link below. DOWNLOAD
We’re excited to announce the launch of our new offering: Speakers' Corner! This exclusive series gives you a front-row seat to video recordings from the 27th International Passive House Conference, now available on Passipedia. These videos will be available in preview exclusively for iPHA members before they're made public. Every month, a new video will be added, covering a range of topics from EnerPHit retrofits, case studies, policy, and component…
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…
Lloyd Alter, the writer, thought leader, and author of Living the 1.5 Degree Lifestyle, has a new book out called The Story of Upfront Carbon: How a Life of Just Enough Offers a Way Out of the Climate Crisis. Lloyd will give us an overview of the book and then will dive into a detailed conversation with PHN Executive Director Ken Levenson and with questions from the audience. It should…
3C-REN is offering a Design/Build Boot Camp through industry-leading provider Emu Passive. This training is being offered FREE (normally a $2,350 value) to contractors and tradespeople who are residents of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura County. There are two info sessions on the boot camp: - August 1st @ 2pm on Zoom through Emu - September 5th @ 2pm on Zoom through 3C-REN The training will be held…
[smartslider3 slider=2] International Passive Open House Days | July 2024 This summer California has been experiencing a heat dome with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees F in much of the state. Suffering under such extremes makes people wonder what they can do to make their living and working places better. The benefits of Passive House were on display this past June 28-30 with 6 houses participating in the…
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