Zero Emissions Buildings as the Framework for our Future

By Passive House California , June 11, 2024 - Decarbonization, News, Press Release

What do Zero Emissions Buildings look like? The Department of Energy has just finalized an official definition. The new guidance outlines three pillars of a Zero Emissions Building: energy efficient, free of onsite emissions from energy use, and powered solely from clean energy. The definition includes different compliance options for new and existing buildings, but in either case requires zero onsite emissions (with an exception for emergency backup in case…

Passive House California Virtual Community Meeting

By Passive House California , October 2, 2023 - Community Meeting

Passive House California is excited to announce the initiation of a monthly Virtual Community Meeting program. The meetings will be on the third Tuesday of each month at Noon. We will provide information about each monthly meeting on the PHCA website (passivehousecal.org) and in the previous month’s PHCA newsletter. Meeting information will also be posted on the Passive House Network website (PHNetwork.org). The Community Meetings will be aligned with the…

Certified Passive House Designer/Consultant (CPHD/C) training, Santa Barbara

By Passive House California , July 25, 2023 - Member News

On June 26 - 30, the Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN), in collaboration with the Passive House Network, hosted a five-day in-person Certified Passive House Designer/Consultant (CPHD/C) training at Santa Barbara Community College. Situation on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the LEED Platinum classroom building was a perfect location for discussing Passive house concepts. 14 students completed the week. All indicated that they plan to take the CPHD/C exam…

Certified Passive House Designer and Consultant Certification | Offered by the Passive House Network (PHN) and PG&E Workforce Education and Training

By Passive House California , February 13, 2023 - Training & Education

Thank you for your interest in the Certified Passive House Designer and Consultant Certification offered by the Passive House Network (PHN) and PG&E Workforce Education and Training. We are now accepting applications to participate in the next Certified Passive House Designer/Consultant (CPHD) training cohort. See the course layout below for the training curriculum, important dates, final examination, and more. Details Training starts April 14, 2023, and runs 11 weeks including…

Zoning Holiday Design Party | Passive House California

By Passive House California , February 4, 2023 - News

On February 1, 2023 architects, developers and advocates celebrated the 29 design concepts that were submitted to the Zoning Holiday Competition.  The concepts submitted were based on a five-unit multi-family building on a 50’ wide by 100’ deep site and designed to the Passive House Standard and the CEQA Class 3 exemptions. The term Zoning Holiday is based on the fact that “many California cities have not met State-mandated requirements…

An investigation into policies driving Passive House adoption in North America (Passive House Network)

By Passive House California , June 23, 2022 - News, Press Release

“This is an overview of the existing policies in place that were designed to accelerate Passive House adoption across the U.S. They are based on the input received at an informal gathering convened by PHN on November 6, 2020, where we gathered representatives from across North America to share information regarding policies in place in their specific regions. (This report was updated in April 2022 to include new measures and…