The American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY) is writing in support of the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP). PHPP should be an approved energy modeling software package by New York State for demonstrating compliance with the New York State Energy Code. It would serve as an optional compliance path for both commercial and residential buildings, granting more choices to architects, engineers, and buildings owners.
PHPP v.9.6 has been independently tested by Remi Charron, PhD, of Remi Charron Consulting Services located in Vancouver. The analysis protocol used was ASHRAE Standard 140-2017, “Standard Method of Test for the Evaluation of Building Energy Analysis Computer Programs”, a comprehensive standard test for evaluating whole building energy analysis and simulation software programs. According to Charron, “The validation tests consist of a series of carefully described sample case building plans and mechanical equipment specifications. Results from modeling the different cases with the software being tested are compared to those of reference software results and used in conjunction with diagnostic logic to determine the sources of predictive differences.” The results of the analysis showed “PHPP agreed very well with those of the other software.”
AIANY has a membership of nearly 6,000 architects and related professionals, including many Passive House practitioners. The Passive House community are leaders in energy efficient design who play an important role in meeting the goals of sustainable design legislation. Therefore, we urge you to review and approve PHPP.
