Passive House California Virtual Community Meeting | Communicating the Value of High-Performance

By Passive House California , December 19, 2023 - Community Meeting

There are many professionals associated with the building industry (architects, engineers, builders, jurisdiction personnel, etc.) who recognize and support the high-performance of Passive House — but find it difficult to successfully communicate the value of high-performance to others who are not familiar with the benefits of Passive House principles. This presentation and Q & A will focus on ways to persuasively communicate the logic of choosing high-performance for the design…

EpiPHany Corner | Passive House Provides a Win+Win Against Climate Change

By Passive House California , December 5, 2022 - EpiPHany

Climate Action Plans developed by jurisdictions across California generally incorporate strategies and action plans for mitigation (reducing the severity of harmful effects resulting from changing climate) and for adaptation (making adjustments to address fitness or survival under evolving environmental conditions). The primary mitigation strategy is to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHGs), carbon in particular, in order to limit the global temperature rise. Key tactics for the built environment are reducing ongoing…

EpiPHany Corner | PH Value Proposition: EnerPHit for Existing Buildings

By Passive House California , September 22, 2022 - EpiPHany

Passive House California advocates for the awareness, understanding, and application of the Passive House standard.  Most of the time, the focus is on the design and construction of new Passive House buildings (single-family, multifamily, and a wide range of other types). The high-performance of Passive House provides significant benefits in terms of energy efficiency, comfort, indoor air quality, durability, and resilience. Clearly, a smart and responsible choice for owners, occupants,…

EpiPHany Corner | For Persuasive Communication, F-F-B is Good, but N-F-F-B is Better

By Passive House California , August 21, 2022 - EpiPHany

If you are involved in advocating for environmentally responsible standards, strategies, products, or projects, this simple tactic can dramatically increase your success. First, some well-established definitions: A “Feature” is a characteristic of something (standard, strategy, product, service, or project) that is easily understood or demonstrated. A “Function” is how the feature works to provide one or more benefits. A “Benefit” is something positive that is gained as a result of…

EpiPHany Corner | How is Integrated Design analogous to a winning football team?

By Passive House California , July 25, 2022 - EpiPHany

We are experiencing increased interest and awareness of the possible integration of Passive House strategies in the affordable multifamily industry to increase energy efficiency, healthy indoor air quality, and resilience. Affordable multifamily developers have consistently been early adopters of environmentally responsible practices in the design and construction of their projects. Most recently, in their quest to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and provide the best possible living conditions for occupants, they…

EpiPHany Corner | Achieving Your Vision for a High-Performance Home

By Passive House California , June 24, 2022 - EpiPHany

The following is true for the design and construction of any home or building, but particularly important when your vision includes high-performance: The elements of high-performance include energy efficiency, indoor air quality, comfort, durability, and — resilience to extreme heat/cold, wildfires/smoke, and power outages. Historically, the process of building a custom home on a particular parcel has been a bit like a relay race. The potential homeowner would have an…

PODCAST | Passive House 101 with Jay Gentry by Home Green Homes

By Passive House California , June 22, 2022 - Member News

What you need to do is to talk to somebody that understands it all, that can look at and understand what’s going on in your home and help you decide what aspirational approach or what would be possible, and then back down as necessary. And you’ll get the best possible result. Passive House (Passivhaus) represents today’s highest energy standard for building performance with the promise of reducing the operational energy…

EpiPHany Corner | Three Tips for Achieving High-Performance Buildings

By Passive House California , May 26, 2022 - EpiPHany

Today, “High-Performance” generally refers to: Maximum Energy Efficiency; Physical and Emotional Comfort; Healthy IAQ; Resilience; and ultimately, Zero Net Energy; Zero Net Carbon. The Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) and the recently introduced PH Ribbon (integrates embodied carbon) make it possible to deliver the owner’s targets for high-performance. The three-legged stool of Early planning, Envelope first, and Aspirational goals are critical to achieving desired performance on time and on budget with…

EpiPHany Corner | The Natural Order of Decarbonization

By Passive House California , April 25, 2022 - EpiPHany

First, we acknowledge the extremely important success of the Decarbonization Coalition (buildingdecarb.org) in their efforts to drive the electrification of the built environment. As a result of their work, over 50 California cities/counties have committed to phase out natural gas in new buildings. The Decarbonization Coalition’s traction with municipalities and other entities is advancing the conversation to include all four of the imperative factors that will enable the decarbonization of…

EpiPHany Corner | The Natural Order of Sustainability

By Passive House California , March 27, 2022 - EpiPHany

When you are in the process of designing and constructing a new building, or planning for the remodeling or retrofitting an existing building, the Natural Order of Sustainability is: Passive First - Active Second - and Renewables Last. A “passive” solution delivers desired performance naturally, as a function of design, and continues to deliver that performance over time with little or no intervention other than basic maintenance. When you design…

EpiPHany Corner | A High-Performance Enclosure: The #1 Priority for Resiliency

By Passive House California , February 20, 2022 - EpiPHany

Resiliency is the “ability to withstand and recover from difficult life events.” In the case of buildings, difficult life events include extreme heat or cold, wildfires, airborne pollutants (including smoke), and power outages. The #1 priority for achieving resiliency is a high-performance enclosure (envelope) The #1 priority for attaining a high-performance enclosure is air sealing Employing Passive House protocols is the #1 way of delivering an airtight enclosure The high-performing…

EpiPHany Corner | Position High-Performance as the Baseline

By Passive House California , December 20, 2021 - EpiPHany

You cannot discern how a building will perform by appearance alone. The home pictured below must be at least code compliant in order to pass inspection, but it might be a high-performing building in terms of energy efficiency, comfort, indoor air quality, durability, and environmental responsibility. It may even qualify as a Passive House. You need additional evidence from modeling and testing to make a determination. The key word here…