Passive House Accelerator is proud to announce that Zehnder has become a Champion Sponsor. For those in the high-performance building community, the name has long been almost synonymous with mechanical ventilation. Founded in Switzerland in 1895, Zehnder has spent more than a century evolving from a small family-run mechanical workshop into one of the world’s leading providers of indoor climate solutions, with manufacturing facilities across Europe, China, and North America, and sales operations spanning more than 70 countries.
Mechanical ventilation is not optional in passive buildings. It is one of the core principles. Airtight building envelopes demand a reliable, continuous supply of filtered fresh air to maintain indoor air quality, manage moisture, and exhaust stale air. Zehnder’s heat recovery ventilation (HRV) and energy recovery ventilation (ERV) systems are engineered to meet precisely this need with efficiency in mind. For example, their ComfoAir line, which employs counter-flow air-to-air heat exchangers rather than the parallel-flow designs common elsewhere in North America, can recover upwards of 90% of the energy from exhaust air and transfer it back into the incoming fresh air stream. Several models from their ComfoAir line have received certification through the Passive House Institute, with certifications applying to a range of climate zones, a distinction that relatively few ventilation manufacturers in the North American market can claim.
What sets Zehnder apart is the completeness of their offering. Rather than selling a standalone unit that must be paired with third-party ductwork and accessories, Zehnder provides a turnkey package that includes distribution boxes, transfer grilles, flexible ducting, and intake and exhaust tubing. For design teams working within the tight performance tolerances of a Passive House project, that kind of integration simplifies commissioning and reduces the risk of performance gaps between design intent and as-built reality.
“The future of building performance is inseparable from healthy indoor air quality,” said Maushum Basu, Head of Ventilation at Zehnder Group North America. “As buildings become increasingly airtight and energy efficient, ventilation plays a critical role in delivering healthy, comfortable, and resilient indoor environments. We are proud to partner with Passive House Accelerator to advance education, innovation, and best practices that support the continued growth of high-performance buildings across North America.”
“Zehnder is a company that our community already knows and trusts,” said Passive House Accelerator Director Zack Semke. “Their ventilation systems are installed in Passive House projects around the world, and the level of engineering they bring is exactly what our members need. Having them on board as a Champion Sponsor means our community will get even more direct access to their expertise, and I think that’s going to be incredibly valuable.”
Michael Ingui, the founder of Passive House Accelerator and President of Ingui Architects, added, “You simply cannot have a Passive House without high-quality mechanical ventilation. It’s the lungs of the building. Zehnder has been at the forefront of that conversation for decades, and their commitment to energy recovery and indoor air quality aligns perfectly with the Accelerator’s mission and what the high-performance building community is working toward every day. We’re thrilled to have them with us.”
To learn more about Zehnder and their ventilation systems, you can check out their page on the Accelerator site or visit zehnderamerica.com.