Passive House: The Future of Building in the US?
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Course Description
The German Passive House standard was inspired by the work of early high-performance building pioneers in the US in the 1970s and 80s. The Germans took that early work and developed it into a system -- an innovative approach to design and construction with an intense focus on minimizing energy needs in a building. The simplicity and clarity of the standard had an immediate appeal to a core group of US-based architects and builders when Passive House was introduced into the United States last decade. Within a year of the first Certified Passive House Consultants' training program in 2008, multiple projects were already under way; another year or two later, and buildings designed to the Passive House standard have been constructed all over the US -- from new Orleans to Minnesota, and from Maine to California. This class will provide an in-depth introduction to the standard and will be led by the Certified Passive House Consultants responsible for the first two Passive Houses in Massachusetts.Course Agenda
* WELCOME - Orientation Materials & Explanation for How This Course Works
You'll have access to all of the course materials immediately after you enroll - this course is SELF-PACED, so you don’t need to be ‘logged in’ at any specific time. Expect to spend an average of 5 hours/week on the course materials and homework, but you can work ahead or catch up if you fall behind. Keep in mind that Paul & Mike will be there to provide guidance, answer your questions and help you learn for the duration of the course. Paul & Mike will not be on duty after the last day of the course, but you’ll have access to all course materials for a full year.
Week 1 - Introduction to Energy Modeling and the Passive House Standard
This will be an informative week of videos, reading, and homework assignments to lay the groundwork for more in-depth topics. Plan to spend about five hours over the course of the week on this background material. We'll cover: History of Passive House, Introduce the Standard and certification strategies, Social & Environmental Context, Introduction to Energy Modeling and the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP), and some real-world examples building designed and constructed to the Passive House standard from New England, Germany, and Austria.
Week 2 - Passive House Details and Products - Part 1
We'll go into detail about Thermal Bridging, Foundations & Slabs, Above-grade walls, Windows and doors, Roofs, Mechanical Systems, Solar Thermal, and others.
Week 3 - Passive House Details and Products - Part 2
More details: Mechanical Systems, including schematic design and details. Also, Building Science issues encountered in Passive House design and construction that you may not run into in conventional design and construction.
Week 4 - Case studies and Passive House as a retrofit strategy
Instructors Paul, Mike, and Paul have learned a few lessons working on their own Passive House projects as well as observing others. This week they will share all of these lessons to get you up the learning curve quickly. Moving beyond theory and completely into the realm of practical reality, this week's video lessons and discussion are about how to make Passive House happen in the real world. We'll build on this to discuss the limitations of Passive House, asking the question: "Is the Passive House Standard too Rigorous for the US?"
RESOURCES - Everything You Need to Become a Leading Expert of Passive House
Books, Websites, Conferences, Advanced Training, Industry Contacts and more. All students will have the tools to be a contributing member in the growing, global Passive House community. We'll continue this conversation at the Building Energy Conference!
Meet The Instructor
Paul Eldrenkamp and Mike Duclos
Paul Eldrenkamp is founder and owner of Byggmeister, Inc., a 27-year-old residential remodeling company based in Newton Massachusetts. He serves on the boards of the Newton Historical Society and the Newton Green Decade Coalition, has served on the board of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, and was the chair of the residential working group of Governor Patrick's Zero Net Energy Buildings Task Force. He was also the first certified Passive House consultant in New England.
Mike Duclos is a principal and founder of The DEAP Energy Group, LLC, a consultancy providing a wide variety of Deep Energy Retrofit, Zero Net Energy and Passive House related consulting services. Mike was an energy consultant on the Transformations, Inc. Zero Energy Challenge entry, and has worked on a variety of Zero Net Energy, DER and Passive House projects, including two National Grid DER projects which qualified for the ACI Thousand Homes Challenge, Option B,and a feasibility study of a retrofit to the Passive House new home performance standard. Mike is a HERS Rater with Mass. New Homes With ENERGY STAR program, a Building Science Certified Infrared Thermographer, a Certified Passive House Consultant who certified the second Passive House in Massachusetts, holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from UMass Lowell, and two patents.