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…
International award for energy efficient buildings and regions
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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…
NY13 Passive House Symposium, Saturday June 8th
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Andreas Benzing
, May 12, 2013 - Events
Passive House: Toward Net Zero Energy To slash energy use and carbon emissions while developing our built environment, Passive House is the proven essential first step – increasing comfort and health while reducing heating and cooling demand by up to 90%. The NY13 Passive House Symposium (NY13) will explore the effectiveness of Passive House as a cornerstone of our low-energy, low-emissions future - highlighting important questions regarding policy, finance and performance…
After a Bumpy Start, a Passivhaus Success Story
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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…
The 7 Habits of Local, Highly Successful Passive House Organizations – thoughts on resource efficient advocacy
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.…
How three light bulbs help keep my house 72 degrees
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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
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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
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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…
