Designing with Structural Thermal Breaks for Improved Comfort, Efficiency and Moisture Control

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Concrete slabs and steel beams that project through the building envelope, such as those used in the construction of balconies, canopies and parapets, break the insulation layer and create thermal bridging. Incorporating a thermal break within structural elements significantly improves the thermal performance of building envelopes and helps avoid costly issues down the road. This course discusses solutions to thermally separate the external components from the insulated interior…


iPHA webinar: Passive House Airtightness and the blower door test

Air tightness is a fundamental pillar for every energy-efficient building. But how can we ensure a high level of quality, and what needs to be taken into account? The webinar dives into the process of a "blower door measurement" to check the airtightness on the building site, including leakage detection. Wolfgang Hasper from the Passive House Institute will not only explain how to set up a blower door test but…


Carbon Sequestering: Synthesizing Passive House and Healthy Materials Recap

Passive House approach to operational energy with challenges of addressing upfront embodied carbon, as a key combination to address in approaching carbon-zero buildings. ​​To move our construction into a carbon-neutral environment it is essential to address the operational energy through Passive House performance together with the upfront embodied carbon through an integrated and methodical approach. The symposium “Carbon Sequestering: Synthesizing Passive House and Healthy Materials” will explore the possibility of…


iPHA webinar: Quality assurance concepts for fast deep renovation approaches

This webinar will talk about quality assurance concepts for fast and deep retrofits. The outPHit project is developing quality assurance approaches to evaluate and approve energy efficiency concepts for renovation projects before and after the renovation works. A design stage approval concept can ensure building owners and investors that the retrofit can achieve the level of energy efficiency targeted. Certification of different renovation systems will ensure that the components used…


iPHA Webinar: Updates to the building certification criteria

2022 has seen a significant revision of Passive House Institute's building certification criteria following the release of the English PHPP10. Another smaller update will be released by the end of this year. Zeno Bastian, PHI's project manager for criteria development, will give you an overview of the most relevant changes that affect the Passive House, EnerPHit and PHI Low Energy Building standards. You can choose from two sessions: Session 1:…


Passive House Meets Net Zero – Zeroing In On Energy Efficiency

  If you missed Passive House Meets Net Zero, you still have a chance to listen to a recorded streaming of the event! This education event, co-hosted with Ontario Passive House Group, focused on Net Zero Energy Homes and Buildings. Participants learned about the work of the Passive House Institute (PHI) in Germany, which has spent the last few years tackling the question what does it mean to be "Net…