Introduction to the Passive House

Passive House Academy | 334 Douglas Street. Brooklyn, NY 11217 | info@passivehouseacademy.com | 1Introduction to Passive House | December 1, 2016
Introduction to the Passive House Idea

Michael McCarthy | Passive House Academy
teach
consult
design
buildwww. passivehouseacademy.commichael@passivehouseacademy.com

what do we want from our buildings?
use less energy
be more predictable
be healthier
be more comfortable
be more durable
be more resilient

the Passive House idea
Well Insulated & Airtight Shell Use the Sun’s Energy
Ventilation with Heat-
Recovery

“The energy used in our
buildings contributes
nearly three-quarters of
citywide emissions.”
One City: Built to Last

use less energy
Use up to 90% less energy for
heating and cooling compared to a
typical building
use 75% less ‘source’ energy than a
typical building

-20
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1/4/14 1/5/14 1/6/14 1/7/14 1/8/14 1/9/14 1/10/14 1/11/14 1/12/14 1/13/14
%RH
°F
Living Room Temperature & Humidity
During January 2014 "Arctic Vortex"
Indoor Temp Ambient Temp Indoor Rel Hum
be more reliable
Cramer Silkworth, Baukraft Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
Heat turned on

be healthier
Cleaner and fresher air. Interior air is
completely exchanged with filtered outside air
many times a day.
No mold or moisture problems owing
to warm surfaces and superior ventilation.
Healthier homes: Healthier people
with fewer respiratory illnesses and relief for
asthma sufferers.

be more comfortable
More comfortable with a steady
temperature on all surfaces.
Quiet even in a very noisy city.
Resilient so occupants can shelter in place in
case of power failure.

Passive House Institute Certification

12
the first Passive House

certified buildings
classic
premium
+ renewable energy generation on site or nearby
and/or higher energy efficieny

certified professionals
Passive House Institute, Darmstadt Germany (PHI)
Regional Accredited Building Certifier
Certified Passive House
Consultants & Designers
Developers Home Owners BuildersArchitects Engineers

certified components

certified construction

certified retrofits: EnerPHit
Most of wh at will b e, h as alread y b een b u ilt.

how do you make a Passive House building?

Favorable compactness ratio:
A/V ≤ 0.21 ft2/ft3
Form Factor: Surface Area to Volume Ratio
Better form factor =
less insulation
0.09
0.12
0.15
0.18
0.21
0.24
0.27
0.31
0.06
A/V = 0.07 ft2/ft3

the Passive House energy model

STEP 1: insulate, insulate, insulate
• Specific levels are
performance driven
• Reduce heat loss (winter)
• Reduce heat gain
(summer)
• Comfortable interior
surface temps

Wood Framing: Larsen Truss & Wood-I-Beam
SOURCE: EcoCor, Chris Corson

STEP 2: make it airtight
• Reduce drafts
• Reduce possibility of
moisture damage to
envelope
• Reduce heat loss (winter)
• Reduce humidity
(summer)
• n50 < 0.6 ACH
• q50 < 0.0355 cfm/ft2

Examples of Airtight Materials

STEP 3: design out ‘thermal bridges’
• Reduce heat loss
• High int. surface temps
lead to reduced damage
from condensation
(mold)

STEP 4: use the best windows available (and shade)
• High-Performance
glazing adds more
energy to the home than
it loses
• Glass’s high int. surface
temps lead to increased
occupant comfort
• Triple-glazed
• Thermally broken frames
• Low Psi-value spacers
• SHGC climate driven
• Effective Shading

59F
59F
16F
63F
Psi-value = 0.018 BTU/hr.ft.F
fRsi = 0.80, no condensation risk
Window Head in Masonry Wall

STEP 5: fresh air and heat -recovery
• Clean, filtered fresh air
all year round
• Reduced heat loss in
winter
• Reduced humidity in
summer
• Eliminate stale air
• Minimum 75% efficient
• 0.3 ACH @ normal
speed

Max 1,060 CFM
Up to 58 persons
Up to 93% efficient
Mid-Size Multi-Family Ventilation Unit

STEP 6: right size the heating and cooling
• Heating / cooling
generation by various
means
• Air based or hydronic
distribution
• Radiant or Hybrid
options as well

What ’s Your Climate?
• Heating and humidification dominated
• Heating dominated
• Split climates where heating and cooling are very important (dehumidification too?)
• Cooling dominated
• Cooling and dehumidification dominated

Passive House Certification Criteria – new build
Yearly Heat Demand ≤ 4.75 kBtu/(ft2·yr)
or Peak Heating Load ≤ 3.17 Btu/(hr·ft2)
Yearly Cooling Demand ≤ 4.75 kBtu/(ft2·yr)
Primary Energy ≤ 38.0 kBtu/(ft2·yr)
Building Airtightness ≤ 0.6 ACH@50
Excess Temp Frequency ≤ 10%
NOTE: For cooling, there is an additional
energy allowance for latent loads
(Dehumidification) which varies by climate

30
Energy demand
[kBtuPER/(ft²TFA*a)]
9.50
14.25
19.00
classic
plus
premium
Energy generation
[kBtuPER/(ft²footprint*a)]
19
38
Energy Efficiency and Renewables

EnerPHit Certification Criteria – existing
Yearly Heat Demand ≤ 7.92 kBtu/(ft2·yr)
Yearly Cooling Demand ≤ 7.92 kBtu/(ft2·yr)
Primary Energy ≤ 41.5 kBtu/(ft2·yr)
Building Airtightness ≤ 1.0 ACH@50
Excess Temp Frequency ≤ 10%
NOTE: For cooling, there is an additional
energy allowance for latent loads
(Dehumidification) which varies by climate

PH: Cost Optimal Route to NZEB
Passive House Classic
Passive House Plus
Passive House Premium
EnerPHit
Low Energy Building
1991
N
Z
E
B
Image source: Passive House Institute

what buildings can be Passive Houses?

single family homes
(BarlisWedlick, Hudson Passive House, 2010)

low-rise multifamily
Belfield Passive Townhouses, Onion Flats, 2012

mid-rise multifamily
Knickerbocker Commons, Chris Benedict, 2014

retrofits
Brooklyn Passive House, Prospect Architecture and Design, 2009

schools, commercial office
Austrian Raiffeisen-Holding Group Tower, Vienna, 2013
Windy Hill Associates , Hollis Montessori School, New Hampshire, 2014

high-rise
Roosevelt Island Dormitory, NYC, 2017

Passive House is global

the Passive House idea in the United States

One City: Built to Last
“To be on a pathway to 80 by 50 [80 percent reduction in emissions by
2050], we will…
Implement leading edge performance standards for new construction that
cost effectively achieve highly efficient buildings, looking to Passive House,
carbon neutral, or “zero net energy” strategies to inform the standards.”

NYC Local Law 701A (2016): Passive House by 2030

EnerPHit
88th st. Manhattan
Baxt | Ingui Architects
8thSt. Brooklyn
Red Top Architects
Baukraft Engineering
Park Pl. Brooklyn
Fabrica 718 Architects
ZeroEnergy Design: PH Engineering

Cornell Tech Dormitory
Handel Architects
Steven Winter Associates
Hudson & Related Companies
Monadnock Construction

NYSERDA research - 26 Story Feasibility Study

Mott Haven (NYC HPD)
Dattner Architects
Steven Winter Associates
Trinity Financial
Mega Contracting Group

S TR A TE GY F O R NEW YORK CA N BE A DO PTE D NA TIO NA LLY
www.passivehouseacademy.com
One COUNTRY: Built to Last: “…an affordability plan, an economic
development plan, and a public health plan,…”

Introduction to the Passive House

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