Passive House Weekly: May 16, 2022

May 16, 2022

Please read on for a selection of Passive House happenings, articles, interviews, and developments. The featured project above is the Phius Certified Glassport Retirement Residence.

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

1. Passive House Week in Preview

MON: Zola Component Spotlight with Sam McAfee

Back by popular demand, Sam McAfee of Zola Windows will join us this Monday, May 16, for a special Component Spotlight to dive into the ins and outs of buying quality windows. Sam will provide you with the top 10 ways to know you are getting quality windows from a quality company so that your project will provide years of performance and lasting comfort. Register here

WED: Environmental Charter School: Living and Proving the Mission

Join speakers Craig Stevenson (AUROS Group) and Jon McCann (Environmental Charter School) as they discuss their approach to addressing some of the greatest issues of our time while teaching future citizens how to think about complex systems and interdependencies that benefit the environment, their community, and each other. Get the Zoom link

THURS: BPI Episode 8: Project Kiss House - Challenging Design, Performance and Delivery

The final, eighth Building Performance Interactive episode focuses on a journey of innovation. Kiss House started with a vision of how Passive House housing could be delivered at scale if the optimal marriage of design, performance and delivery was achieved. Joining from Kiss House will be Carli Jordan (MD), Mike Jacob (Head of Product and Innovation), and Richard Green (Head of Manufacturing). Register here

NOW LIVE: Episode 87 of the Passive House Podcast

Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews Ryan Cassidy, Director of Sustainability & Construction for RiseBoro Community Partnership. Ryan discusses supervising the construction of the first multi-family affordable Passive House buildings in NYC, his current work renovating existing buildings to the Passive House standard, and his insights around mainstreaming Passive House as standard practice. Listen here

NOW LIVE: Special Component Spotlight Episode

In this special Passive House Component Episode, Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke interviews Evan Anderson, general manager of Zola Windows, a longtime supporter of North America's Passive House movement, and the first Founding Sponsor of Passive House Accelerator. Evan shares his path to Passive House and the world of high performance windows, talks about how Zola Windows are being applied in the field, including in a recent project in Antarctica, and gives a preview of Zola's brand new steel frame line. Listen here

THIS WEEK: Events In the Passive House Community:

Passive House Accelerator
Zola Component Spotlight with Sam McAfee (May 16)

Phius
Phius CPHC Phase II Training, Online (May 16)
Phius Prefab Panel Certification Program with Michael Franco (May 17)

RDH Building Science
From Risk to Readiness: Practical Solutions for Meeting the Existing Building Retrofit Challenge (May 17)

Passive House Accelerator LIVE!
Environmental Charter School: Living and Proving the Mission (May 18)

Passive House Accelerator: Building Performance Interactive
BPI Episode 8: Project Kiss House - Challenging Design, Performance and Delivery (May 19)

Passive House Northwest
2022 Spring Passive House & Panelization Conference (May 20)

2. Featured Article of the Week

Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood is an expansive grid of commercial avenues and residential streets dominated by single-family homes constructed in the 1920s and 30s. Nestled within this spread of detached and semi-detached residences was the Bethany Methodist Home, which has stood on East 40th Street since the 1910s and had long served as emergency shelter for women with limited resources. Continue reading

THANK YOU To This Week's Featured Sponsor:

Visit Mitsibushi Electric Trane US HVAC

3. New Video

Bright Common studio director Jeremy Avellino and Holzraum System co-founder Ilka Cassidy join PHA Live! to present Zero Six, Philadelphia’s first Phius+ 2018 Source Zero Pre-Certified multifamily townhome development. The team discusses what it takes to design and certify market-rate development in Philadelphia, highlighting the unique challenges of urban infill Passive House as well as the creative adaptability of a project team facing fluctuating economic markets and supply chain shortages.

4. Upcoming Conferences

2022 Spring Passive House & Panelization Conference (May 20)
PHnw is back for our first in person gathering since 2019! This one day "micro" conference is laser focused on the rapidly growing panelization market. Choosing panelization for your Passive House project is a great solution to take advantage of the up-front planning, quality building techniques and faster on-site building times. The conference will feature Mike Eliason as the keynote, several panels, and lots of extra time to network and socialize with our community. Register

Passive House Canada Conference: In the Face of Climate Change (May 25-27)
Learn how Passive House design and technology addresses our need for climate resilience, improving our homes and offices now and into the future. This conference will offer the latest insights, case studies, and best practices, spanning the spectrum of knowledge for architects, engineers, building owners, government policymakers and planners, financial decision-makers, and property managers. Register

The Passive House Network: 2022 Passive House For All (June 10 & 17)
Efficiency | Equity | Electrification | Embodied Carbon. We must transform our built environment with integrated solutions. We know the basic ingredients: efficiency, equity, electrification, and embodied carbon. We have the know-how today. So let’s dive into the synergies and the specifics. Let’s get aggressive, grab all of these tools, and take radical holistic action to build a healthy prosperous future for all people before it’s too late. If you agree, join us in Boston and online. Learn more

Electri-fiction to Electrification: Overcoming Barriers (June 15)
At Urban Green Council's 2017 conference, the group noted that the path to electrification was cluttered with uncertainty, raising more questions than answers. In the past five years, we’ve gotten some answers (like when the right time to start electrifying is), seen dramatic shifts in policy, and made notable progress at the systems and grid level. But we haven’t seen wide-scale market adoption yet. This year’s conference tackles the remaining barriers holding us back, lessons learned from the few that have made the leap and how we can accelerate progress now. Use code ELECTRIFY for $10 off at registration. Learn more

NetZeroBuild Summit (June 28 & 29)
NetZeroBuild Summit 2022 brings together the net-zero community in the Midwest to discuss challenges, opportunities, innovations, policy changes and other developments regarding net-zero design, energy, construction, materials and building operations. Learn more

PhiusCon 2022: Emissions Down, Power Up! (Oct 25-28)
PhiusCon is coming home to Chicago Oct. 25-28 at the historic Palmer House. Last year, Phius set its sights on expansion with its motto “Emissions Down, Scale Up!” and despite the obstacles presented by COVID, shared that vision with a sold-out crowd in Tarrytown, New York. PhiusCon 2021 created a wave of momentum, and Phius is looking to carry that into PhiusCon 2022 as it builds for the future. And you can’t talk about building for the future without mentioning electrification, so Phius decided to put a charge into this year’s motto: “Emissions Down, Power Up!” Learn more