BD&C: Passive House Gains Momentum In Apartment Design Building Design & Construction magazine says Passive House, an ultra-efficient building standard that originated in Germany, has been used for single-family homes since its inception in 1990. Only recently has the concept made its way into the commercial market.
|
|
Brookfield: Symons Gate Passive Haus Brookfield Residential has opened the doors to the first passive house built by a major Alberta builder. While it appears to be a typical home, at 2,500 sq. ft., with three bedrooms and two baths, it is anything but typical. It has no furnace and uses 90 percent less energy than the typical home.
|
|
CMHC: Housing Without Heating Systems In Sweden CMHC report describes twenty row houses that do not use traditional heating systems. Instead, they use heat exchangers in combination with an exceptionally well-insulated construction. (PDF)
|
|
Dovetail: Overview Of Passivhaus Principles & Benefits Dovetail report provides provide an overview of the PassivHaus phenomenon including a brief history, a summary of the certification standards, design and construction techniques, and the potential economic benefits and energy savings. (PDF)
|
|
Fine Homebuilding: What Are Passive Houses? Fine Homebuilding says these high-performance building standards and certification guidelines help architects and builders create comfortable, super-energy-efficient houses.
|
|
GBA: Passive House Concepts & Basics Green Building Advisor discusses the Passivhaus standard, the housing industry's simplest yet most rigorous and challenging energy consumption standard.
|
|
GEF: Calgary Passive House Runs on Sunshine, Good to -30 Green Energy Futures describes the Symonds Passive House in Calgary. It is 90% more energy efficient, solar powered and built out of solid wood (cross-laminated timber) and one of the most beautiful super energy efficient homes they've seen.
|
|
PBC: Comparing Passivhaus & LEED Passive Buildings Canada online video discusses how the performance based Passiv system differs from the prescriptive LEED system.
|
|
SAB: Passive Narrow House In Vancouver Sustainable Architecture and Building magazine says the Passive Narrow House in East Vancouver makes green home ownership more affordable through careful planning, use of simple forms, and a combination of inexpensive yet durable materials that reduce maintenance costs.
|
|
Tree Hugger: In Praise of Invisible Sustainability in Saskatchewan Tree Hugger says in 1977, a team of clever architects and engineers built Saskatchewan Conservation House which had a compact design, continuous super-insulation, high-efficiency mechanical ventilation and summer shading. They had been asked to design a solar-powered house but Harold Orr wrote that they "came to the conclusion that solar heating of a home in Saskatchewan was not appropriate" -- so instead, they came up with the simpler, passive approach.
|
|
Peel: Online Passive House Course Peel School of Passive House online course shows participants how to use the Passive House Planning Package for residential building design and certification.
|
|
PHC: Passive House Canada Online Learning Platform Passive House Canada new online learning platform will give you access to a growing library of educational offerings featuring live webinars, recorded sessions, and online resources to access at your convenience. Topics are customized to meet your learning needs as a Passive House professional working in Canada.
|
|
CD&C: Canada's Top 10 Passive House Leaders Canadian Design and Construction Report says these Canadian Passive House leaders are turning environmental sustainability concepts into efficient and comfortable buildings.
|
|
Dovetail: Pushing Passive House Forward: Moving Beyond Energy-Efficiency Dovetail report Pushing Passive House Forward: Moving Beyond Energy-Efficiency addresses the current state of Passive House, progress that has been made, problems that have been encountered, and the creation of the Active House system, which has been developed in response. It also explores the outlook for widespread movement toward highly energy efficient structures, as well as existing obstacles to substantial change in construction practices. (PDF)
|
|
International Passive House Conference The annual International Passive House Conference and Passive House Exhibition brings together thought leaders and innovators from around the world. It offers networking opportunities, presentations, workshops and excursions.
|
|
NAPHN: Exploring Bright Spots of Passive House Policy North American Passive House Network online Policy Resource Guide shows the adoption of the Passive House standard across North America over the past decade has not been uniform, linear nor without challenges, but its uptake is now accelerating rapidly.
|
|
CanPHI: Canadian Passive House Institute Canadian Passive House Institute is a non-profit educational organization that provides knowledge, tools, networks and confidence to design and construct buildings which meet the world’s highest level of energy efficiency, the international Passive House Standard.
|
|
IPHA: International Passive House Association International Passive House Association is a global network of Passive House stakeholders including architects, planners, scientists, suppliers, manufacturers, contractors and property developers. It works to promote the Passive House Standard and foster a greater public understanding of its significance. Encouraging the exchange of Passive House knowledge, iPHA communicates with the media, the general public and the entire range of construction professionals.
|
|
Passipedia: Passive House Resource Site Passipedia provides Passive House relevant research, articles, information, insights, and new Passive House findings from around the world. Members of the International Passive House Association (iPHA) receive special access to the more in depth sections.
|
|
Passive House Accelerator: Resource Site on Passive Homes Passive House Accelerator makes it easier to learn about Passive House. It supports the community by allowing them to share ideas and solutions, to continue and expand on conversations and sessions at conferences, and to allow those who are succeeding in creating projects and/ or solutions to share their knowledge. It aggregates content from existing sites while also creating a new platform for people to share new ideas.
|
|
PBC: Resource Site On Passive Homes Passive Buildings Canada serves as a passive house information group that provides a network for the Canadian Passive House community to connect, share knowledge and experience, and empower the delivery of Passive House projects.
|
|
PHIUS: Passive House Multifamily Resource Center US Passive House Institute online Multifamily Resource Center offers information tailored for developers, architects, engineers, policy makers, and investors who are considering projects that would meet requirements of the PHIUS 2015 building standard.
|
|
Building Science: Passivhaus Standard Issues For Colder Climates Building Science says the Passivhaus standard, a set of voluntary criteria for an ultra-low energy use home originally developed in Germany, contains many recommendations that are not likely good decisions for cold climate North American housing, and some are very impractical with little or no benefit to the environment or the homeowner.
|
|
CMHC: Passive Approaches to Low-Energy Affordable Housing CMHC report Passive Approaches to Low-Energy Affordable Housing summarizes a literature review of existing research and projects to identify promising passive design strategies and technologies for low-energy and affordable multi-residential buildings, real-world projects that have successfully implemented passive low-energy approaches in their design and construction, and some of the challenges, costs and benefits associated with passive low-energy affordable homes. (PDF)
|
|
CMHC: Solar Mass Walls Not Feasible For Space Heating In Canada CMHC study explores performance of one type of passive solar heating system, the mass wall. Mass walls hold the promise of being able to provide passive solar heating in situations in which direct gain is not suitable, but results of the study are not favourable for Canada. (PDF)
|
|
US DOE: Climate-Specific Passive Building Standards US Department of Energy report Climate-Specific Passive Building Standards provides cost-optimized climate specific performance targets for more than 1,000 climate locations. The metrics represent the sweet spot where aggressive carbon reduction and energy efficiencies overlap with cost-effective building solutions. (PDF)
|
|
CCHRC: Thermal Mass Study For Cold Climates Cold Climate Housing Research Center online video summarizes their study of thermal mass to determine its effects on occupant comfort and annual heating load for a typical cold climate residence.
|
|
GBA: All About Thermal Mass Green Building Advisor describes why interior thermal mass can sometimes help lower energy costs, but in cold climates it won't help much.
|
|
GBA: Cost-Effective Passive Solar Design Green Building Advisor says cost-effective passive solar design includes orienting your house properly, including an adequate amount of south-facing glazing protected by roof overhangs, and including some interior thermal mass.
|
|
GBA: Net-Zero-Energy Versus Passivhaus Green Building Advisor discusses net-zero energy versus Passivhaus approaches to building a superinsulated house, and describes how each has its strengths.
|
|
GBA: Q & A On Passivhuas Standards Green Building Advisor Q & A with Passivhaus Institut founder Wolfgang Feist discusses the five elements of a Passivhaus building, and future challenges for Passivhaus proponents.
|
|
GBA: Using Sun For Passive Heating & Daylighting Green Building Advisor describes how to design around the sun to lower heating and lighting needs. How a house is oriented to the sun has a dramatic impact on heating and cooling costs, the largest energy load in most homes.
|
|
Vancouver City: Passive Design Tool Kit For Homes City of Vancouver online Passive Design Toolkit for Homes details strategies for achieving energy efficiency and improved heating comfort through building design. These passive design elements are evaluated for relative cost and effectiveness and can reduce a buildings energy demand by as much as 50 per cent. (PDF)
|
|
|
|