Embracing Change: Adopting Passive House Design Principles at a Small Firm
By Jordan Parnass, AIA, Principal, Circular
What happens when a small firm decides to go all-in on Passive House design principals?
High performance design is not only the future but is completely achievable today for projects of all scales and typologies in all climate zones.
Learn how one firm was able to leverage staff training and changes to their design philosophy to gain access to a variety of different clients and project types.
Your firm should embrace the opportunities presented by sustainable design and not see ever-tightening energy code requirements as an obstacle to practice.
This presentation will describe the challenges and benefits of embracing Passive House design for projects.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the necessary steps required to obtain certification as a Passive House design professional.
2. Identify typical strategies for increasing energy performance of a range of building types.
3. Establish steps that need to be taken to incorporate Passive House Design principals into their office workflow.
4. Communicate quantifiable benefits for clients to adopt Passive House goals for their building projects.
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Thank You To Our Sponsors
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This program series is made possible by a grant from Victor, the
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This presentation is protected by
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Reproduction, distribution, display and
use of the presentation without written
permission of the speaker is prohibited.
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This program is registered with the AIA/CES for continuing
professional education. As such, it does not include content that
may be deemed or construed to constitute approval, of any
method, product, service, enterprise sponsorship or endorsement
by AIA New York State, AIA New Jersey or AIA Pennsylvania.
The statements expressed by speakers, panelists, and other
participants reflect their own views and not necessarily reflect the
views or positions of the AIA or AIANYS, AIANJ, AIAPA, local
components, or those of their respective officers, directors,
members, employees or any other organization associated with
them and involved in the planning and production of this
program. Questions related to specific products and services may
only be addressed at the conclusion of this presentation.
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Learning
Objectives
1. Examine the necessary steps required to obtain
certification as a Passive House design professional.
2. Identify typical strategies for increasing energy
performance of a range of building types.
3. Explore steps that need to be taken to incorporate
Passive House Design principals into their office
workflow.
4. Discuss the quantifiable benefits for clients to adopt
Passive House goals for their building projects.
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What We’re
Going To
Cover
What Is Passive
House?
Quick Passive House Intro
Typology Differences
How Can I Integrate
It Into My Practice?
Training Options
Integrating Consultants
Design Process Overview
Why Should I Care?
Doing The Right Thing
Technical Knowledge
Thought Leadership
How Can I Profit
From It?
Differentiate Yourself
How To Pitch Clients
Circular Project Examples
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Who Am I?
Jordan Parnass
Personal Profile
Based in Brooklyn, NY
Certified Passive House
Designer 2014
LEED AP 2008
NYS Registered 1999
Columbia GSAPP 1993
Born in Canada
Circular
Firm Profile
Founded in 2000 as
Jordan Parnass Digital
Architecture (JPDA)
Small Firm: 7 Staff
Mix of public sector,
commercial, residential
projects
Design awards from AIA,
PHI and others
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What Does A
Passive
House Look
Like?
Rockquist Passive House
Hudson Valley, NY
River Architects
Saugus Middle/High School
Saugus, MA
HMFH Architects
Tesco Supermaket
Dublin, Ireland
Joseph Doyle Architects
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How Does It
Compare to
The Status
Quo?
By Hexagon Architects
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How Does A
Passive
House Work?
By the Passive House Institute
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Evolutionary
or
Revolutionary?
By Albert Righter Tittmann Architects
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What Kinds
of Materials
Are
Required?
Air Sealing Tape
Pro Clima Tescon Vana
Air Sealing Membrane
Pro Clima Intello
Insulation
Dense Pack Cellulose
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Show Me The
Benefits
Healthy
Comfortable
Quiet
No Dust
No Critters
Managed
Humidity
More Durable
Predictable
Performance
Lower Cost
Lower Energy
Use
Resilient
Complementary
By Passive House Accelerator
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Why Should
I Care?
It’s Going To Be Code
Soon Enough
Code is catching up
Passive house is an
approved compliance path
You Will Become An
Expert
Become A thought leader in
your community
Differentiate your firm
It’s The Right Thing
To Do
Sustainability minded
clients are willing to spend
more
Compete for low energy
projects
Access Higher End
Clients And Projects
Buildings contribute 40% of
global CO2 emissions
Healthier for occupants
Extend life of older buildings
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So You Want
To Drink
The Kool-Aid
1. Get Training To Become A Certified
Passive House Designer
2. Get The Rest Of Your Firm Onboard
3. Join Your Local Passive House
Community For Support
4. Build A Team With Sub-Consultants
5. Start Pitching Clients
6. Get Your Project Designed
7. Get Your Project Built & Certified
8. Spread The Word
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Training:
Which
Organization?
PHI Certification Training
• Certified Passive House Designer (for
licensed professionals)
• The Passive House Network (NAPHN)
• Online
• $1,795
• 35 AIA LU/HSW
• PHPP Software
• 1 Site Visit
PHIUS Certification Training
• PHIUS Certified Consultant
• Two Phase Training, Two Exams
• Online
• $950 Phase 1, 50-60 Hours
• $1,150 Phase 2, 24 Hours
• 80 AIA LU/HSW
• WUFI-Passive
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Get Your Firm
Onboard
Invest in training
• Staff gain valuable skills and
accreditation
• Some states offer rebates
• Counts for licensing HSW lu’s
• Building science knowledge will
apply to all projects
Promote innovation
• Support a culture of learning
• Conduct in-house knowledge
sharing
• Generate excitement with new
challenges
• Incorporate innovation into your
brand
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Find Your
Community
Connect And Contribute
• Get support on local code issues
• Share references for consultants
• Get recommendations for contractors
• Keep up to date at conferences
• Find resources for suppliers
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Build Your
Team
Code Is Catching Up
Passive House Is An Approved
Compliance Path
Builder
Find a firm with passive
house experience
They will work closely with
the energy consultant
MEP Engineer
Find someone with
experience or require
tradesperson certification
They must give 100% buy-in
or it will not work
Certifier
Necessary for first project
Builds energy model
You can learn to do this
yourself if you really want
Energy Consultant
Sometimes the energy
consultant does this
Critical to establish
certification criteria
upfront
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Pitch Clients
Code Is Catching Up
Passive House Is An Approved
Compliance Path
Durability
Feasibility study upfront
confirms guaranteed long-
term energy cost savings.
Small or no upfront cost
premium
Cost Savings
Fewer leaks
Fewer repairs
Higher quality construction
Health & Comfort
They are saving the planet
Much cooler than a Tesla
Quantifiable performance
Low embodied carbon for
high performance retrofits
Sustainability
Excellent indoor air quality
Consistently temperature
and humidity in all seasons
No street noise
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Build, Test
And Certify
Quality Control During Build
• Verify component specifications
• Ensure proper materials used
• Confirm installation methods
• Protect the air barrier
• Resolve unexpected conditions
Testing & Certification
• Blower door testing before finishes
applied to confirm ACH
• Track down gaps and fix them
• Blower door testing at completion
• Pressurization and depressurization
• Successful certification after test results
and details reviewed by authority
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Spread The
Word
Marketing
• Get your project photographed
• Share your successful certification
• Share your projected energy savings
• Enter your project for awards
• Present your project at conferences
• Establish your firm as the sustainability
experts in your community
Business Development
• Identify prospective clients
• Leverage your success to pitch larger
projects
• Suggest targeting Passive House on
new conventional projects
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Poll #4
What Will
Excite Your
Clients About
Passive
House?
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Typologies:
Single Family
Residential
Public Sector Residential
The Diagram
• Continuous High Insulation
• Air Barrier
• High Performance Windows
• No Thermal Bridging
• Energy Recovery Ventilation
Ditmas Park Passive House
• ZH Architects
• Retrofit of Historic Wood Frame
House
• Interior Air Barrier and New
Insulation
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Typologies:
Multi-Family
Residential
The Diagram
• Continuous High Insulation
• Air Barrier
• High Performance Windows
• No Thermal Bridging
• Energy Recovery Ventilation
425 Grand Concourse
• Dattner Architects
• 277 Residential Units Mixed Use
• 300,000 sft
• Centralized ERV Systems
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Typologies:
Commercial
Interiors Non-Profit
The Diagram
• Continuous High Insulation
• Air Barrier
• High Performance Windows
• No Thermal Bridging
• Energy Recovery Ventilation
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
• Murray Associates Architects
• 40,000 sft Office Space
• New Construction and Historic
Renovation
• New Interior Air Barrier and Insulation In
Existing Structure
• Centralized ERV
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Typologies:
Institutional The Diagram
• Continuous High Insulation
• Air Barrier
• High Performance Windows
• No Thermal Bridging
• Energy Recovery Ventilation
100 Flatbush School
• ARO Architects
• 150,000 sft
• Mixed Use Building
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Typologies:
Industrial The Diagram
• Continuous High Insulation
• Air Barrier
• High Performance Windows
• No Thermal Bridging
• Energy Recovery Ventilation
Star Garment Innovation Center
• Circular Architects
• 55,000 sft
• Adaptive Re-Use of Industrial
Building
• Exterior Shading For Tropical Climate
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Example
Circular
Projects
Park Slope Passive House
• Brooklyn, NY
• Landmark district brownstone
renovation
• Two family occupancy
• Masonry construction
Star Garment Innovation Center
• Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Adaptive re-use of industrial building
• Existing steel frame construction
• Sustainability showpiece
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Park Slope
Passive
House
Existing Conditions
• Façade and window appearance to be
preserved for Landmarks approval,
including decorative stained glass.
• Two-family occupancy revision
requires C of O change
• Old masonry and wood joist
construction means getting proper air
barrier would be challenging.
• Client wants a sustainable home.
Opportunities
• C of O change triggers code
compliance requirement for entire
building, increasing project scope.
• Planned gutting of interior for new
finishes and infrastructure provides
opportunity for new air barrier,
insulation, ERV and HVAC system.
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Construction
Demolition
Air barrier layer Vapor barrier prior to insulation
Masonry parge coat
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Testing Blower Door Progress Test
• Initial test revealed higher than
acceptable ACH
• This was the Builder’s first Passive
House project
• The team identified numerous areas
of gaps and leaks
Blower Door Final Test
• Readings were close but not
certifiable.
• Since walls were already closed up,
Aeroseal AeroBarrier was used to
bring ACH down to well below
permissible limit.
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Star Garment
Innovation
Center
Existing Conditions
• Existing two-story steel frame
structure with no insulation
• Client wants a mostly-glazed façade
• Client seeks a sustainability
showcase
• High process loads from equipment
mean meeting PH standards will be
challenging
• Sri Lanka location means all
components must be imported
Opportunities
• Planned gutting of walls and interior
for opportunity for new air barrier,
insulation, ERV and HVAC system.
• Tax Free Business Zone allows
importation of components and
materials duty-free.
• Local team of architect and engineers
are enthusiastic about the challenge
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Feasibility
Approach
Code Is Catching Up
Passive House Is An Approved
Compliance Path
Challenges
• Few specification on original drawings to
establish baseline for cost and performance.
• Difficult to establish historical primary
energy use and cost as separate from
industrial process loads.
• No local distributor for typical Passive
House equipment or construction materials
(tapes, air barrier, ERV etc).
• Complex occupancy and usage patterns.
Results
• Certifiable to EnerPHit standards.
• Calculated 77% reduction in primary
energy usage.
• Projected 6-7 year payback period.
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Energy Model
Code Is Catching Up
Passive House Is An Approved
Compliance Path
Primary Energy
By End Use
PHPP Model
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Holistic
Approach Increase Cooling Efficiency
• Mechanical ventilation with
VRF.
• ERV’s for more energy
efficiency.
• Wrap-around heat pipe
system for low-energy
reheat of cooled air.
Solar Shading
Reflective Roof Paint
Energy Recovery
Ventilation
PV Panels
Continuous
Insulation
Continuous Air
Barrier
Reduce Heat Gain
• Exterior shading devices.
• Reflective roof paint.
• Upper floor cantilever
and roof shading.
Airtightness & Insulation
• Exterior shading devices.
• Continuous high R-value
insulation.
• Continuous Air barrier
stops leaks and energy
loss.
• Thermal bridge-free
design.
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Layout
Approach
Upper Floor
• Main production area
• Patternmaking, cutting and main
sewing area
Ground Floor
• Pulled back a bay from perimeter for
shading
• Offices and meeting rooms
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Constructability
Approach
Low Tech Design
• Keep the materials and detailing as simple as possible
• Helps ensure successful execution by workers on site.
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Construction
Demolition
EIFS stucco on foam insulation
over liquid applied air barrier
Window mullion installation
Masonry infill and partitions
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Testing Pressurization Progress Test
• Partial test of window frame install
since building not complete
• Uncovered fabrication and
installation issues that required
adapting details to correct
• The team identified numerous areas
of gaps and leaks
Blower Door Final Test
• Readings were close but not
certifiable
• Use of smoke puffers an
anemometers revealed gaps at the
existing purlins
• Emergency foam application sealed
the gaps
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Verification
Actual %
diff. from
model
Oct-17 5%
Nov-17 -6%
Dec-17 -10%
Jan-18 -11%
Feb-18 -17%
March-18 -9%
April-18 -24%
May-18 -6%
June-18 -10%
July-18 -8%
Aug-18 -7%
Sep-18 -2%
AVERAGE -9%
Post-Occupancy Evaluation
• Collection of data from remote
sensors
• Tabulation of monthly energy bills
• Interviews with occupants
