Parsons graduate architecture students performing case studies of NYC buildings looking for partners

Posted by NYPH , August 14, 2014 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, HVAC, News, Technical

David White of Right Environments, a NYPH member and Parsons faculty, is looking for architects, developers, or building owners to partner with Parsons graduate architecture students performing case studies of NYC buildings.  They will be studying energy use, thermal comfort, air quality, and related building science subjects. The partner will meet with students to discuss the design approach and potential areas of study; provide drawings; and help coordinate permission for access to…

Why Passive House?

Posted by NYPH , November 29, 2013 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, News, Passive House Institute, Real Estate, Technical

Building to the Passive House Standard[1] reduces our buildings’ operational energy demand to an optimized extent through passive measures and components such as insulation, airtightness, heat recovery, solar heat gains, solar shading and incidental internal heat gains.   Passive House reliably delivers up to approximately a 90% reduction in heating and cooling demand and up to a 75% reduction in overall primary energy demand when compared to our existing building stock.[2]…

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…

Building Efficiency and Blower Doors: Essential Responses to Sandy

Posted by NYPH , August 2, 2013 - HVAC, News, Technical

By Ken Levenson, A.I.A. Superstorm Sandy has produced a torrent of meetings, plans, reports, announcements and actions by city, state, federal and non-governmental organizations. Today, before their terms expire, the New York City Council and Mayor are racing to pass important legislation based on these past months of herculean effort. While the action may be understandably focused on measures directly related to storm survival of our built environment from wind…

After a Bumpy Start, a Passivhaus Success Story

Posted by Andreas Benzing , May 8, 2013 - General Interest - Science & Lifestyle, News, Technical

BY VERONIQUE LEBLANC POSTED ON MAY 7 2013 on GreenBuildingAdvisor   In 2006, when we bought our house in Mamaroneck, New York, it was all about location: views on Mamaroneck Harbor, a south-facing orientation, proximity to the train station and the village’s main shopping street, and the ability to have a decent sailboat moored in deep water across the street and winterized at the shipyard next door. The house was…

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.  …

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…

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:…

TWO CHANCES TO WIN the new 2012 PHPP!

Posted by Andreas Benzing , August 2, 2012 - Technical

TWO CHANCES TO WIN the new 2012 PHPP!   The American Passive House Network would like to support and encourage designers to show and share their work with other designers. To build more Passive Houses, designers should have the best tools available and often those new tools are created in our own community. How can we help potential clients choose to build Passive Houses? The success rate of building Passive…

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,…