Brussels: 15 million SF of Passive House in 5 years

Posted by NYPH , February 26, 2013 - Events, General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, Passive House Institute

March 11, 2013 Ms. Joke Dockx, Director for Energy at the Brussels Institute for Management of the Environment (“Brussels Environment”) will explain how Brussels has created a government-private Exemplary Buildings partnership promoting Passive House construction and retrofits.   Since 2007, the Exemplary Buildings partnership has assisted 52 Exemplary Building projects with another 44 under construction (collectively, over 15 million square feet of Passive House buildings). A growing share of the Exemplary…

How three light bulbs help keep my house 72 degrees

Posted by Andreas Benzing , January 29, 2013 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, Technical

How three light bulbs help keep my house 72 degrees  By Doug Mcdonald, NYPH Member It has been cold in January up here in New England. A cold snap moved into the northeastern US, and through it all the interior temperature was maintained at 72 degrees without any active heating - with the notable exception of my tiniest of supplemental heaters, items one doesn't think typically of as heaters at all.  …

PHI airtightness maximums compared to current USA airtightness code requirements

Posted by NYPH , October 4, 2012 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, HVAC, Passive House Institute, Technical

By Floris Keverling Buisman, reposted from  Four Seven Five It has been argued by many that the air-sealing requirements set by the Passivhaus Institute are too strict, unrealisticly low and thus too costly. However, the kind people on the other side of the Atlantic have shown that it is not hard to surpass these requirements by far, save both energy and prevent moisture and mold issues in walls. We are starting…

PHPP Multi-Zone Manager

Posted by Andreas Benzing , August 16, 2012 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, Technical

David White of Right Environments and Cramer Silkworth of Baukraft Engineering have recently released their "PHPP Multi-Zone Manager" to the public. The tool, an Excel spreadsheet and macro, helps coordinate multiple PHPP models for a multiple-zone building or multiple variations on a building for parametric modeling. By centralizing the variable inputs and referencing just one "template" PHPP, you can quickly develop and control multiple models from one place.   From the documentation:…

Blowerdoor protocol for verification of 0.6 ACH50 for Passive House

Posted by Andreas Benzing , July 21, 2012 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, HVAC, Renewable Elements, Technical, Translucent Elements

By Floris Keverling Buisman,  Four Seven Five Automated blowerdoor test according to EN13829 with DG700 manometer controlled by laptop Building air-tightness that is below 0.6 air changes per hour at 50 pascals pressure (0.6ACH50) is a simple target that the Passive House Institute (PHI) requires for new building certification.  (A retrofit may meet 1.0ACH50 for EnerPHit certification.)  This is a measurement of air flow and not much input or calculations are required…. Just…

Lessons Learned from the Orient Artist Studio

Posted by Andreas Benzing , July 14, 2012 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, News, Technical

By David White, Right Environments. I was very fortunate to work with Ryall Porter Sheridan Architects and Manuele Contracting on the newly Passivhaus certified artist studio in Orient, Long Island, NY. I'd like to share what I hope will be useful reflections.   The Orient climate is very similar to New York City in terms of temperatures and solar radiation. The studio is in a wooded area with moderate Southern exposure,…

First annual NYPH Symposium 2012

Posted by Andreas Benzing , June 23, 2012 - Events, General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, News

This June NYPH hosted its first annual symposium and here's what people have been saying: "a day filled with loads of great projects and innovative people," "great presentations and networking," "great energy."  Over 100 people attended, there were 12 component vendors and 17 presentations.  Two Certified Passive House Plaques were presented.  Shown the awe inspiring work of cities like Brussels and Frankfurt, NYC was challenged to build 2 million square feet of…