Passive House Weekly November 7, 2022

November 7th, 2022

Please read on for a selection of Passive House happenings, articles, interviews, and developments. The featured project above is PHI-certified Belfield Townhome.

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

WED: Minimizing Carbon in Multifamily Systems

Chris Fuller (Staengl Engineering) will join Construction Tech to illustrate how different heating and cooling system choices stack up to each other in their energy consumption and carbon emission impacts for a real apartment building (nearing completion) in Pittsburgh. He will give concrete examples of how different dehumidification systems and domestic hot water systems fare against each other, as well. In total 14 different HVAC/hot water system types will be discussed; they were all modelled and analyzed for their embodied carbon, operational carbon, and refrigerant leak impacts. Get the Zoom link

THUR: Component Spotlight: Heat2O The Future of Water Heating

Mitsubishi is pleased to introduce the Heat2O Domestic Hot Water Heat Pump, a revolution in sustainable water heating. Energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, Heat2O uses a natural CO2 refrigerant with a global warming potential (GWP) of 1 and an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of 0. Please join us to see how the Heat2O system can help achieve the energy savings and carbon reduction goals central to the Passive House movement and future-proof your project, your plans, and your vision with Mitsubishi’s all electric domestic hot water heat pump system. Register here

NOW LIVE: Episode 112 of the Passive House Podcast

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Zack interviews Mariana Pickering, co-founder of Emu Passive, about what's new in her work (including Emu's recent tradesperson training held in Santa Barbara) as well as how the rebuilding effort after the Marshall Fire is going and the role that Colorado's Passive House community is playing there to help "build forward". Listen here

NOW LIVE: Special Passive House Component Episode: Mahnaz Nikbakht + Robert Blount, ROCKWOOL North America

Passive House Podcast cohost Zack Semke catches up with Mahnaz Nikbakht and Robert Blount of ROCKWOOL North America. The three discuss the personal Passive House advocacy of both Mahnaz and Robert, the product innovations and design guidance offered by ROCKWOOL, and the application of mineral wool in two major projects (the Ken Soble Tower retrofit in Ontario and the Winthrop Center Passive House office tower in Boston). Listen here

THIS WEEK: Events In the Passive House Community

Passive House Accelerator
Minimizing Carbon in Multifamily Systems (Nov 9)
Component Spotlight: Heat2O The Future of Water Heating (Nov 10)

Passive House Canada
Master Class Month, various November programs (Nov 8-25)

International Passive House Association
Passive House Open Days (Nov 11-13)

#BS Friday
Intelligent Membranes (Nov 11)

Emu Passive
Passive House Builder Boot Camp in Troy, NY (Nov 14-18)

THANK YOU to this week's Featured Sponsor

Visit Prosoco

2. New Issue of Passive Accelerator Magazine

Our New Magazine Issue is Here! Our fall 2022 Passive House Accelerator magazine issue is out—in both a digital and a print edition! This issue celebrates the themes of resiliency, restoration, and rebuilding with a host of case studies ranging from single-family homes designed for environments susceptible to wildfires to retrofits of large multifamily student residences, and much more. Read the Fall Issue

3. Featured Article of the Week

NYC Schools’ Electrifying Transformation

On October 28, 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams made a precedent-setting announcement, launching “Leading the Charge”, a $4 billion plan to combat climate change and create healthier learning environments, while also improving air quality and helping develop a green workforce. The centerpiece of this plan is electrification of New York City’s (NYC’s) schools. “Under this bold plan, we will not only electrify 100 schools but also ensure that we never again build a school in New York City that runs on fossil fuels,” Adams said. Continue reading

4. New Video

Kathy MacNeil (principal at MP Boston) joined the Project Showcase to discuss leading construction and design implementation for a remarkable forthcoming project, Winthrop Center. The $1.3 billion mixed-use project in the heart of Boston that is projected to be the largest Passive House office building in the world.

5. Upcoming Conferences

Passive House Massachusetts Symposium (Nov 16)
PHMass welcomes you to join them as they return to an in-person Symposium and Push the Boundaries of Passive House. Featuring presentations, case-studies, panel discussions, and networking, all in-person at the BSA Space in Boston. Early Bird Registration is now open!

International Passive House Association Conference 2023 (March 10-11)
The 26th International Passive House Conference will be held in the state capital of Hesse in 2023. #EfficiencyNOW will be the focal theme of the event. The Conference will demonstrate how buildings that use very little energy for heating and cooling can be supplied with renewable energy reliably and at scale, a timely topic. The Conference will take place in person in Wiesbaden from March 10-11, 2023. Simultaneously, online events will be available. The Call for Papers is open until 2 September 2022. The event will be held under the auspice of the Minister of Economic Affairs of the German state of Hesse.

2023 Passive House Network Conference (Sep 28-Oct 6, 2023)
Participate online and in Denver Colorado!