What is Passive House?

Posted by NYPH , November 3, 2013 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, Passive House Institute, Real Estate, Technical

Passive House is a building standard.  It is a voluntary international building standard developed by the Passive House Institute (PHI), located in Darmstadt, Germany – referred to also as The Passive House Standard.   The Passive House Standard is composed of several strict performance requirements for new building construction.  For the renovation of existing buildings PHI developed a similar if slightly more lenient performance standard.   The resulting performance represents a roughly…

International award for energy efficient buildings and regions

Posted by Andreas Benzing , June 9, 2013 - News, Passive House Institute

Announcing the 2014 Passive House Award - submission deadline 30th September 2013 Darmstadt. Those at the forefront of energy efficient construction globally can now submit innovative projects for the 2014 Passive House Award. Competition entries may include single buildings as well as entire districts or regions. An independent jury will evaluate the architectural design and urban planning aspects of the submitted projects with special attention given to the use of…

The 7 Habits of Local, Highly Successful Passive House Organizations – thoughts on resource efficient advocacy

Posted by NYPH , April 3, 2013 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, Passive House Institute

By Bronwyn Barry Over the past five years I've been fortunate to interact with a vast network of Passive House advocates from Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Hungary, England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia, Mexico, Canada and New Zealand.  At home in California, I've worked to promote the PH concept both locally at Passive House California, and nationally at the American Passive House Network in coordination with NY Passive House, Passive House Northwest…

NYPH Member to speak at Passive House Conference in Frankfurt

Posted by NYPH , March 26, 2013 - Events, Passive House Institute

On Saturday April 20 NYPH Member Cramer Silkworth of Baukraft Engineering will present a tool for PHPP modeling of multiple zones and/or design options at the Passive House Conference in Frankfurt. Developed in collaboration with David White of Right Environments, the free Excel-based tool coordinates the inputs for any number of design variations and collects key results in one location for easy review. Highly flexible in design, any number of…

Tintin goes Passive

Posted by NYPH , March 19, 2013 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, Passive House Institute

Belgium, the country that brought us Tintin, the reporter-turned detective, is in the midst of another great adventure. Belgium has finally found the culprit in its high energy costs and CO2 emissions which translates directly into loss of money and global warming. The culprit was always hiding right under their nose and worse yet in their homes and places of work: poorly insulated buildings. This was the perfect villain for Tintin to confront with energy savings strategies.…

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…

17th Annual International Passive House Conference

Posted by NYPH , February 12, 2013 - Events, Passive House Institute

Greg Duncan is a Certified Passive House Designer and principal of Gregory Duncan Architect     UPDATE: Early registration discounts extended to March 1 Early registration discounts for the International Passive House Conference in Frankfurt end February 15 March 1, 2013. New York Passive House members at the professional level get additional discounts through our affiliation with the International Passive House Association (iPHA). Click here to become a member of NYPH.…

International Passive House Open Days 2012

Posted by Andreas Benzing , November 18, 2012 - Events, Passive House Institute, Technical

We opened our Mamaroneck Passive House to the public all day Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 November and had an incredible turn out. Close to 200 people diverted from their week- end routine to come and visit our construction site and see the finished skeleton of the house only waiting for siding outside and for blown in cellulose and Sheetrock inside. Contractors, engineers, realtors, students, manufacturers, the French American School Board…

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…