Guidance for Emerging Sustainable Design Warriors 2: Passive House Case Studies

The first tour (House 1:The Von Mueller House in Midwood/Flatbush Area) will be offered at 11:30 AM–1:00 PM and the second tour (House 2: Park Slope House in Park Slope Area) will be from 2:30–4:00 PM. 

It is a 45 minute car drive between both homes.
We are organizing a bus to transport attendees from House 1 to House 2. Please be sure to let us know if you will need a seat on the bus by answering the required question during registration.

Guidance for Emerging Sustainable Design Warriors: House Tour is intended to take a deep dive through two existing home renovations. Both projects are based on Passive House principles that demonstrate Net Zero achievements and sustainable entrepreneurship strategies. These principles can inform public policy to create meaningful and achievable incentives for “Net Zero Zip Codes” that can also serve as green economic zones.

The Von Mueller House is an ongoing collaboration between the building owner and the Vihara Foundation’s Super Energy Efficiency Building Initiative for Climate Action (SEEBICA). SEEBICA aims to deliver a scalable net-zero community housing retrofit—a model being designed for urban cities to achieve high-performance residential sector building energy efficiency at scale. This is achieved through solar photovoltaic, shallow field geothermal heat pump heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting, provisioning for salt water battery energy storage, mechanical ventilation, a green wall for food production and summer solar heat gain reduction, onsite composting and gardening and optimized utility efficiency.

The Park Slope House, an 1880’s house renovation, is unique as it utilized a prototype German Air to Water heat pump system provided by Dimplex Germany and Taco United States for the mechanical system which consists of hydronic radiant floor and AC/dehumidification. This rigorous implementation, built to match passive house standards, resulted in a no compromise energy cost-free home with high interior comfort, improved air quality, and a remarkable carbon footprint reduction. The home and installation has been featured in trade magazines such as HVACR Contractors Magazine, and is set to be in mainstream news outlets detailing modern air to water heat pump installations and sustainable building techniques.

Tour Guides:
Chester Birchwood, Heating and Ventilation engineer; Renewable Energy Engineer; Managing Director, HVAC Kings LLC; Partner, B.K Climate Solutions
Itai Kaitano, Founder, BK Climate Solutions
Dennis Ramdahin, Founder, Vihara Foundation, Smart Community Master Planner, Green Building Professional and Climate Finance Engineer

Please note:

• Meeting location will be emailed to registered attendees the day before the tour.
• These tours are not accessible by wheelchair. Attendees will have to climb stairs in order to access basement areas where the building systems are located.
• Attendees will be required to sign a liability waiver prior to entering the homes.