Passive House Weekly July 24th, 2023

July 24th, 2023

Please read on for a selection of Passive House happenings, articles, interviews, and developments.

The featured project above is Phius Certified Bush School. Learn more

Do you have a recent Passive House and/or high performance project that demonstrates PH principles, electrification, low embodied carbon and high performance construction? Submit here to be featured in a future edition of Passive House Weekly, Podcast or LIVE! program.

1. PHA Week in Preview

WED: Passive House for Elderly Residents in Warm Climates: Meeting Unique Technical Challenges

Oliver Style joins our July Construction Tech edition to present lessons learned from the design and construction of a Passive House that is a senior citizen’s residency in a warm climate. The featured project is the first of seven in design and construction by the same developer along the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Offering a projected 80% reduction in energy bills compared with existing residencies, the presentation will examine the unique challenges in resolving ventilation requirements, achieving airtightness and preparing preliminary testing in large buildings, as well as planning for summer performance and overheating risk.

Oliver is a Passive House Certifier, Trainer and Consultant, a Master of Architecture, Energy and Environment at the University of East London, and the CEO of Praxis Resilient Buildings, an engineering company based in Barcelona. The firm specializes in building energy efficiency, hygrothermal simulation, building physics, healthy indoor spaces, renewable materials, and HVAC system design. Oliver works with free-thinkers, designers, and developers in the creation and construction of healthy, comfortable and high-performance buildings. Join us

NOW LIVE: New Passive House Podcast Episode

THIS WEEK: Events In the Passive House Community

Passive House Accelerator
Passive House for Elderly Residents in Warm Climates: Meeting Unique Technical Challenges (July 26)

Passive House Network
Development Disclosure & Support of Racial Equity: A Profile of Action (July 27)
Certified Passive House Designer Training (July 27)
Passive House Network Conference Early Bird Pricing (Ends July 31)

Phius
Certified Verifier Training (July 10)
A Case for Phius Certified Warehouses with Jesse Hunt and Al Mitchell (July 25)

Emu Passive
Passive Design Build Boot Camp, Vermont (July 31)

Do you have Passive House news that we should share in a future edition? Email us at: [email protected]

THANK YOU to Sponsor of the Week

Visit Glavel

2. Featured Article of the Week

Putting the Pieces Together in Highland

Highland Passive House—the first multi-use warehouse in North America designed to be certified by the Passive House Institute—is currently being built in the community of Highland, New York. Four years ago, the facility was sitting in pieces in several small buildings in rural Maine. This is the story of how Cathy Hobbs, a former Emmy-award winning television news reporter turned top New York City-based real estate stager and interior designer, and Michael Ingui, a New York City-based architect, paired up to make the project a reality. Continue reading

New York States Launches 4th Round of Buildings of Excellence Competition

New York Governor Kathy Hochul yesterday announced another $10 million in funding for Round Four of the Buildings of Excellence Competition. The Competition is being administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and supports developers and architects who demonstrate a commitment to reducing carbon emissions while also creating innovative and cost-effective structures. Proposals to the Competition’s solicitation for demonstration projects will be accepted through Thursday, September 21, 2023, at 3:00 PM. Applications to secure Early Design Support will be accepted continuously through June 28, 2024, at 3:00 PM. Continue reading

3. Upcoming Conferences

ASES Solar 2023 (Aug 8-11)
ASES supports the global initiative that a world equitably transformed to 100% renewable energy is an urgent necessity. Through the ASES National Solar Conference, SOLAR 2023 will elevate public, institutional, and governmental awareness of the critical role solar energy is playing in the global energy landscape. We must ensure that access to and the benefits from clean energy will be enjoyed by all communities, especially those that have been denied those benefits in the past.

2023 Passive House Network Conference (Sep 28-Oct 6)
At the 2023 Passive House Network Conference, we will share our ambitions for a better world. Today, we have huge opportunities to change course. As communities are being stressed and assaulted by the escalating effects of the climate crisis: wild fires, droughts, floods, conflicts, energy insecurity, poverty, sickness and inequality – let’s explore how we can build better buildings, better communities and a better world. Passive House is the platform. Passive House education and peer-to-peer knowledge sharing has the power to change our vocabulary, our conversations, and our culture. Let’s expand the conversation. The conference program will include industry leading designers, builders, developers, manufacturers, and owners, from across the country and around the world.

Energy and Environmental Building Alliance High Performance Home Builder Summit (Oct 10-12)
Bringing Sustainability Home, Where Every Home is High Performing, Healthy & Resilient Join EEBA on October 10-12, 2023 in Salt Lake City, UT for a High Performance Home Builder Summit focused on providing the tools and networking that builders, raters, analysts, and architects need to take high performance, healthy, resilient homes to new heights.

BuildingEnergy NYC (Oct 12)
NESEA's BuildingEnergy NYC conference and trade show is a chance to immerse yourself in a full day of networking and intensive learning with your peers from the fields of design, construction, engineering, policy, finance, and beyond. This unique event is designed by and for our community of practitioners, ensuring that the content is useful, relevant, and on the leading edge. Conference sessions present best practices and lessons learned based on real case studies and proven data, as well as showcasing innovative technologies and programs. If you are a building sustainability professional in any stage of your career, mark your calendar now, and plan to join us on Thursday, October 12, 2023 in New York City!

PhiusCon (November 7-10)
PhiusCon 2023 is headed to the Lone Star State! By hosting this year’s conference in Houston, we have our eyes set on the next frontier of passive building: hot and humid climates. The need for reliable, efficient buildings has never been greater in Texas and beyond, which is why now is the perfect time to expand Phius’ footprint in the south. Phius buildings are designed with the grid in mind – providing energy independence and hardening the larger grid system. Despite the challenges posed, the Phius methodology has proven to be effective in hot and humid climates. PhiusCon 2023 will provide an entryway into the Phius community for local practitioners, developers and policymakers, equipping them with a blueprint to create more resilient, grid-friendly, healthy communities.

27th International Passive House Conference (April 5-6)
Look forward to the 27th International Passive House Conference which will take place on 5th and 6th April 2024 on the campus "Technik" of the Leopold Franzens University in the beautiful city of Innsbruck, Austria!
The theme of the conference is: "Retrofit. Have an impact."
The call for papers is now open. Submit your abstracts and be part of the conference program for 2024!