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NYPH 2013 Symposium Announced
Posted Apr 13, 2013, 2:57 AM by Ken LevensonNY13 Passive House Symposium: Policy, Finance, Performance is to be held Saturday, June 8th in New York City. The symposium will feature presentations by Dr. Berthold Kaufmann of PHI, Richard Leigh of the Urban Green Council and many others - exploring how Passive House can and should be the cornerstone of our low-energy and low-emissions future. This day long event will also feature an Expo of Passive House related products and services. Join the fun June 8th. Find out more here.
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Remove Flame Retardants from Foam
Posted Apr 10, 2013, 2:58 PM by A PhnA coalition of organizations, groups, and individuals from the architectural, fire science, design, engineering, building, public health and other professions across the U.S., Safer Insulation Solution (SIS) has banded together to lobby for the removal of flame retardants from foam insulation where foam is protected and fire safe by existing code provisions. A proposal has been drafted to create exceptions from the requirement that leads to the use of these toxic chemicals in the upcoming 2015 IRC. The long term strategy, developed through the SIS coalition, is based on addressing this issue through progressive changes in building codes, in order to open the market to the introduction of non-flame-retarded plastic foam insulation and eventually, to shift US practice into alignment with European practice, where flame-retarded foam is a specialty product and the norm is for plastic foam insulation to be free of halogenated flame retardant chemicals.
The American Passive House Network supports this effort. Members are encouraged to help by:
· Signing the petition to include exceptions in the code: http://saferinsulation.greensciencepolicy.org/code-change-resolution/
· Making a donation to the Development Center for Appropriate Technology at http://www.dcat.net/support_dcat/index.php
· Testify in Dallas at the IRC Code Development Hearings on or about April 27 – For more information, contact Laura Bartels at saferinsulation@gmail.com or 970-379-6779.
Learn more at http://saferinsulation.greensciencepolicy.org/ -
The APHN shares Brussels' Exemplary Building strategy
Posted Mar 28, 2013, 11:56 AM by A Phn
Three APHN member regions hosted Ms.Joke (Yoka) Dockx for a special 'High Performance' Rock-Star tour of the USA. We flew Ms. Dockx around the country to visit with NYPH, PHnw and PHCA. She presented at multiple events, conferences, symposia and special meetings with legislators and city officials. Her presentations and a host of additional resources can all be viewed and downloaded from the ARCHIVES tab, here on the APHN website. We are grateful to the Brussels Office of the Environment for sharing both Ms. Dockx, their documentation and their logical implementation strategy with the US Passive House community. -
PHCA Spring Symposium: Building Carbon Zero California
Posted Feb 4, 2013, 7:02 PM by A PhnOur California affiliate, PHCA, will be hosting a Spring Symposium on Wednesday, March 20th at the Pacific Energy Center. Tickets and details on the days events can be found here: http://phcacarbonzero.eventbrite.com/
California already has impressive legislation in place that sets the goal for achieving Net Zero energy buildings by 2030. Unfortunately there are no clear paths for how this target will be achieved. The goal of this one-day symposium is to gather policy-makers, industry leaders, architects and builders to collectively determine how best to move forward.Alex Steffen will keynote the Symposium with a look at “How cities will save the Planet.” He will place our local efforts within the global context of climate change but draw on real examples that have and can make positive impacts on our collective future.
Ms. Joke Dockx (pronounced ‘Yokey Docs’) will join us from the City of Brussels’ Office of the Environment. She will share her Brussels’ strategy for defining their Green Building policies and how it progressed from pilot projects to legislation over a span of five years. Additional speakers will look at successful and unsuccessful projects from across the US and California, where we will hear from a panel of architects, builders and developers who have already achieved Net Zero buildings. Their successes and challenges will lead to the closing session where attendees can participate in a collective planning session on how we want to move toward Net Zero.
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PHNW 2013 Annual Conference
Posted Feb 4, 2013, 6:56 PM by A PhnOur affilate chapter, PHnw, will host their Annual Conference on Friday, March 15th, at Seattle Pacific University, Seattle. Details and tickets can be found here: http://www.phnw.org/100/22/phnw-2013-annual-conference.html.
The keynote address will be given by Bullitt Foundation President, Denis Hayes. Mr. Hayes, coordinator of the first Earth Day, and former head of the Solar Energy Research Institute (now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory), is a long time environmental activist and solar power proponent. His remarks will place Passive House in the context of a total-sustainability agenda, using the Bullitt Center, a Living Building Challenge project.
J.O. Dockx, Director for Energy at the Brussels Institute for Management of the Environment (“Brussels Environment”) will provide the featured presentation. Brussels Environment promotes, subsidizes, and monitors sustainable development in the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. Ms. Dockx will explain how Brussels has created a government-private Exemplary Buildings partnership promoting Passive House construction and retrofits. Since 2007, it has assisted 52 Exemplary Building projects with another 44 under construction (collectively, over 1.5 million square feet of passive house buildings). A growing share of the Exemplary Buildings meet the Passive House Standard, and it will mandate Passive House starting 2015. Brussels Environment has already reduced regional energy consumption by 10%. -
PHMaine Multi-Family Forum
Posted Feb 4, 2013, 6:48 PM by A PhnOur friends up north will be hosting a special event on FEBRUARY 15th, focussing on Multi-Family in Maine. They will look at "proven strategies for reducing risk in low energy construction." The morning program features Chris Benedict, RA, from New York and a host of additional architects with recent experience in Passive House and Multi-family projects. More info and ticket details can be found here: http://www.passivhausmaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/PHMe-Multi_Fam-flyer-Final.jpg
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PHPP Dashboard Winners Announced
Posted Jan 4, 2013, 4:39 PM by A PhnJudges from five PH regions across the US deliberated for many weeks over the excellent entries we received for our first PHPP Dashboard Competition. First prize and the honorary title: "Seriously Nerdy 2012," cash and a free copy of the PHPP were eventually bestowed on Randy Foster of the PHnw's Artisan Group. Second prize went to another PHnw member, Jesse Thomas. Congratulations to these two excellent entries and thanks to all who entered.
All entries can be viewed (some for free download) and are archived on our website here. - Full House at Window Certification Workshop Posted Jan 2, 2013, 3:09 AM by Ken Levenson
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Success at Greenbuild 2012
Posted Jan 2, 2013, 2:44 AM by Ken LevensonAPHN successfully hosted The APHN Passive House Zone at the national USGBC Greenbuild conference in San Francisco in November 2012. APHN represented its member organizations - PHCA, PHNM, PHNW and NYPH - with a stylish and informative booth put together by PHCA members. The booth saw a constant flow of visitors and interest in the Passive House standard. A few of the VIP guests spotted visiting the zone included former NY Governor George Pataki, BuildingGreen founder Alex Wilson, and Dr. Benjamin Krick and Sarah Mekjian of the Passive House Institute. Of course the zone wouldn't have been possible without the cooperation of the nine sponsoring vendors: 475 High Performance Building Supply, Cascadia Windows & Doors, Hayward Lumber, Peak Building Products, SIGA, Small Planet Workshop, Wooden Windows,Zehnder America and Zola Windows. Thank you vendors!
At the conclusion of Greenbuild APHN helps host a Passive House Window Certification Workshop. Separate description here. -
APHN Celebrates International Passive House Days
Posted Nov 6, 2012, 3:55 AM by Ken LevensonNovember 9-11, 2012
APHN member groups, Passive House Northwest, Passive House California, Passive House New Mexico and New York Passive House are among the U.S. regional groups holding open houses to celebrate the 9th annual International Passive House Days. The International Passive House Days are an annual opportunity for the public to view and tour Passive Houses and buildings constructed using the Passive House approach—the fastest growing approach to creating high performance buildings.
In the United States, more than 100 buildings have been built to the standard, and hundreds more are on the drawing boards. At least 26 buildings across the United States will be open for viewing during this international event. Links to some of the regional events are below.In addition to houses in these regions, there are Passive Houses to tour in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New England, and New Mexico.
Worldwide approximately 2,000 buildings meeting the Passive House standard will be open for tours, including schools, offices, single family homes, condos, apartment buildings, and other institutional and commercial buildings. The International Passive House Days demonstrate that the approach is practical in climates throughout the world. And, the event allows people throughout the world to join together in taking concrete, practical steps right now to reduce their energy consumption and greenhouse gas production.
Regional event links:
Get more information on the international event and find out whether there are houses in your area to visit here.
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PHPP re-sellers announce donation to the APHN
Posted Oct 2, 2012, 7:41 PM by A PhnTwo official U.S. based re-sellers of the newly released 2012 PHPP v.7.0, announced recently that they will donate a portion of the payment received for the software directly to the APHN. The Passive House Academy will donate $10 for every copy of the PHPP sold here in the US, while the Small Planet Workshop will donate $5.00 for every copy sold.
Thank you to both of these companies for their extremely generous contribution to the American Passive House Network. We will be using the proceeds to promote our Passive House advocacy policy of 'not either or, but more!' -
PHI Window Certification Workshop
Posted Sep 12, 2012, 5:27 PM by Bronwyn BarryCurrently there are no North American-manufactured products certified by the Passive House Institute and included in the PHPP. For this reason, the American Passive House Network, in conjunction with the Passive House Institute (PHI), has organized a workshop to help remedy that situation.
The purpose of this workshop is to encourage North American window manufacturers to build and certify Passive House Windows. In addition to training window manufacturers, the PHI will introduce a new certification process whereby local NFRC-accredited simulators can become PHI-accredited. These simulators will be able to provide local pre-certification services and work directly with the PHI to facilitate final product certification.
The goals of this workshop are:- To have multiple North American-made, certified windows included in the PHPP;
- To encourage local manufacturing;
- To utilize existing simulation entities for faster certification;
- To make specifying and ordering of Passive House-compliant windows and doors easier for the North American Passive House community.
Date: November 16th, 2012
Time: 8am – 4.30pm
Location: Pacific Energy Center, HVAC room, 851 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
For registration and further information, visit our informational web page here.
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Passive House Zone at Greenbuild 2012
Posted Jan 4, 2013, 4:21 PM by A PhnAPHN is pleased to announce that we have organized a PASSIVE HOUSE ZONE at Greenbuild.
This year the USGBC's Annual Conference will be held in San Francisco from November 14th to 16th. Our regional affiliate, Passive House California, will host a series of events to promote the Passive House Standard and to encourage all green building enthusiasts to learn about this high performance building method. Find out more here. -
APHN Dashboard Competition Webinar
Posted Aug 13, 2012, 7:21 PM by Bronwyn BarryThe APHN and Passive House Alliance are co-hosting a Webinar to help encourage, promote and further the development of a potentially very useful tool for the entire PH Community. Are you one of the many talented practitioners among us who has created additional tools that work above, next to, or in conjunction with the PHPP to collect and graphically display key data on a single page? Enter the contest to win money, prizes, and serious bragging rights. Details and the downloadable entry form can be found here: PHPP Dashboard Contest. The deadline for entries is OCTOBER 1st. Sign up to participate in the informational webinar here.
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Passive House New Mexico Group forms and joins the APHN
Posted Jun 27, 2012, 8:59 PM by A PhnAPHN is please to announce the launch of a new regional Passive House group. Since May 2012 a group of dedicated Passive House professionals and enthusiasts have been gathering to discuss the creation of a New Mexico Passive House group or organization that could serve to increase shared educational opportunities and the dissemination of the Passive House Approach.
On June 25th 2012 PASSIVE HOUSE NEW MEXICO was launched.
The primary objectives of Passive House New Mexico are to diminish negative environmental impact from the building industry and improve the quality of life and health of its inhabitants and surrounding ecosystems. Passive House New Mexico is intended to be an open shared platform of information exchange for local, national, and international Passive House knowledge and passive building technologies.
Bi-monthly meetings and presentations are scheduled to begin in July. PHNM web presence and information hubs are currently in development. For additional information on meeting times and locations please send an email to Jonah@mo-s-a.com with a subject: PHNM
This newly formed group has elected to become a member of the APHN. We'd like to officially welcome them and will make sure to keep our readers informed of their upcoming events and developments.
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A Passion For Passive House Film Festival
Posted Jun 26, 2012, 5:56 PM by A PhnPHCA recently announced dates and details for their upcoming Passive House Film Festival and VIP meet-the-filmmaker event. Two documentary films will be screened at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco on Thursday, August 9th, 2012. Passive Passion by Charlie Hoxie and Passive House Comes Home, by Faith Morgan will be shown at two screenings: 7.15pm and 9.15pm.
A special VIP pre-screening event will be hosted at a newly completed Passive House project within walking distance of the Theater. Guests will be treated with food, Passion-fruit cocktails and a tour of the project. They will also have an opportunity to hear highlights of the film-making process from both film makers, who are being flown in to San Francisco for this event.For more details and ticket purchase go to: www.phcafilmfestival.eventbrite.comTo download a copy of the poster: http://tinyurl.com/786lbpg -
NYPH 2012 Passive House Symposium Announced
Posted May 26, 2012, 6:48 AM by Ken LevensonThe 2012 Passive House Symposium is a one day exploration of the many Passive House projects underway in the New York area. The symposium will demonstrate how local architects, builders and owners are meeting the demanding Passive House standard, and making a substantive contribution to New York's climate change mitigation efforts. Find out more and register to attend here.
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Passive House school earns AIA Award
Posted May 26, 2012, 4:38 AM by Ken LevensonThe Passive House classroom building at the University of Minnesota, Duluth, has won the AIA-COTE Top Ten award.
Paula Melton at Environmental Building News writes: "This classroom building is the first AIA–COTE Top Ten project we’ve seen built to Passive House performance standards. Passive solar heat gain provides almost all the heating energy in winter, while super-insulation ensures that the building can stay warm for several days without power or direct sunlight. The structure provides a gateway to the university’s nature preserve and includes an outdoor classroom area that enabled a minimal building footprint."Carly Coulson, project architect (now on her own at www.carlycoulson.com)Mike LeBeau, Conservation TechnologiesFind out detailed information about this beautiful high-performance building on the AIA website here. -
Join free AIA Webinar on Passive House & Habitat for Humanity
Posted May 26, 2012, 3:36 AM by Ken LevensonForm Follows Energy: Achieving the Passive House Standard for Habitat for Humanity:
Monday, June 4th at Noon EST.Continuing the AIA Housing Knowledge Community research webinar series, Stephen Schreiber, FAIA, will moderate. Focusing on the design and construction of a Passive House in northern Vermont. The first Certified Passive House in the U.S. for Habitat for Humanity, and the first to be built modular.
Speaker J.B. Clancy, AIA, will discuss the principles of Passive House design. He will walk through the construction of the Passive House. He will also review the monitored data on energy consumption, temperature and indoor air quality. Lastly they will review lessons learned and think about what is to come.
The webinar is free and AIA members can earn 1 HSW/SD CEH. Find out more and register here.
