There's No Way Around Efficiency!

Efficiency NOW! - 26th International Passive House Conference in March in Germany & online

Darmstadt, Germany. As the host of the 26th International Passive House Conference, the Passive House Institute is looking forward to welcoming participants in Wiesbaden, Germany. With the focus "Efficiency NOW!", the research institute emphasizes that there is no alternative to making buildings more energy efficient as quickly as possible. The renovation of existing buildings, in particular, offers great potential for climate protection. The conference will take place from 10 to 12 March 2023, the conference programme is available online, and the ticket shop is open. The specialists' exhibition for Passive House components, which is accessible to everyone free of charge, is also a part of the conference. Online participation in the conference is also possible. The Hessian Minister of Economics will assume patronage of the event.

The Passive House Institute will host the 26th International Passive House Conference in the city centre of Wiesbaden. The conference will be held in the RheinMain CongressCenter on 10 and 11 March 2023 (Friday and Saturday). Excursions to impressive Passive House projects will be organized on the third day of the conference, among them, the Bahnstadt in Heidelberg. One of several workshops during the event will be about highly energy efficient hospitals. Participants of the conference are also invited to network at evening events. "In view of urgently needed action for climate protection and the latest energy crisis, the building section must contribute to significant energy savings. We invite everyone to take a look at the solutions presented at the International Passive House Conference, either in person or online", says Jan Steiger, one of the managing directors of the Passive House Institute.

Saving Energy Is the Need of the Hour

Given the climate crisis and energy shortages, the theme EfficiencyNOW! focuses on the current demand for high level energy efficiency solutions. CO₂ emissions of buildings will only be noticeably decreased if they consume significantly less energy for heating and cooling. "The Passive House standard for new builds and retrofits can be implemented cost-effectively. It is now well proven, that it is not the high energy standard that is responsible for high construction costs, but rather factors such as location, underground parking, building regulations and the building facilities that drive up costs", explains Jan Steiger.

Deep Retrofits Are Unavoidable

The existing building stock has enormous potential regarding climate protection. Therefore, the 26th International Passive House Conference will present many deep retrofit projects, both at the national and international levels, including schools and apartment blocks. There will also be lectures within the framework of the EU project outPHit, which promotes reliable and fast deep energy retrofits. Beyond this, outPHit will be inviting municipal decision-makers to a workshop dealing with the ambitious energy efficiency goals at the European level, funding options, and quality assurance. In addition, the workshop will compare the statutory requirements for energy retrofits with those for the highly energy efficient EnerPHit standard.

Series of 16 Lectures

The program on the 10th and 11th of March 2023 in Wiesbaden will consist of 16 sessions in total. Besides retrofits, the focus will be on Passive House and renewable energy, student dormitories and social housing, Passive Houses in warm climates, and the resilience of Passive House buildings. The series of lectures on “Hands On”-measures will explain how work can be carried out by people themselves in their homes in order to save energy. In the session on highly energy efficient components, extractor hood systems for combined kitchen and living areas will be presented and the use of heat pumps in the existing building stock will be discussed. The lectures will be in English and German, during German lectures simultaneous translation into English will be provided.

Workshop on Passive House Hospitals

The world's first certified hospital constructed to the Passive House standard is receiving much attention on the national and international level. The new construction in Frankfurt, Germany, will start operations soon. In a workshop on the first day of the conference, the Passive House Institute will address the potentials and recommendations for highly energy efficient hospitals and health care facilities. Furthermore, discussions will be held on planning principles and findings from pilot projects.

Specialists' Exhibition

The conference will also include the specialists' exhibition for Passive House components. In the CongressCenter in Wiesbaden, for two days manufacturers will present components for cost-effective and highly energy efficient construction and retrofitting, including windows and ventilation systems. Not exclusive to conference participants, the trade exhibition will be accessible to all interested persons free of charge. People planning to build or renovate can thus also obtain information about suitable building components for their projects. The Passive House Institute is also going to be present on the exhibition floor.

Approved Continuing Education Event

The Passive House Institute will be offering further workshops prior to and during the 26th International Passive House Conference. The conference is an approved continuing education event. The latest information and registration details can be found on the website www. passivehouseconference.org, the Twitter hashtag for the conference is #26intPHC.

Media representatives can send an E-mail to [email protected] if they wish to attend the 26th International Passive House Conference. The press conference will be held on Friday, 10 March 2023 at 12.30 p.m. at the RheinMain CongressCenter in Wiesbaden.

Additional Information

26th International Passive House Conference: The #26intPHC will take place in March 2023 in Wiesbaden, Germany, with additional online events. www.passivehouseconference.org

#EfficiencyNOW: The call of the hour is to save fossil energy. To achieve this, the Passive House Institute has started the #EfficiencyNOW campaign. All information on this can be found on the platform Passipedia.