A look at the Primary Energy Renewable factors for the USA, by region and city, followed by an brief intro to the PHribbon, using a Berkeley, CA, project example.

1. www.passivehousenetwork.org
PER & PHribbon
The Passive House Dynamic Duo
Jessica Grove-Smith
The Passive House Institute
Bronwyn Barry, RA, CPHD
PHN Policy Lead
PHN Conference, June 2022

2. www.passivehousenetwork.org
Today’s Roadmap
WE ARE
HERE
PER
applied in
the USA Brief intro to
PHribbon
1
How it connects
to PER
DISCUSSION
2 3 4

3. www.passivehousenetwork.org
kWh of Source Energy per kWh of delivered electricity (2004)
National: 3.315
Western: 2.853
Alaska: 3.568
Hawaii: 3.1917 Eastern: 3.394
National: 2.8
SOURCE: Image - http://www.theenergycollective.com/aqgilbert/2322195/us-electricity-system-15-maps, Data: Passive House Academy
ERCOT: 3.574
Regional Source Energy Factors

4. www.passivehousenetwork.org
SOURCE: PHPP v.9.7 IP
PER Factors inside PHPP
5 Energy ‘Bucket’s:
1. Heating
2. Cooling
3. Dehumidification
4. DHW
5. Household
electricity

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SOURCE: PHPP v.9.7 IP
PER Factors for New England

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Newark, NJ
SOURCE: PHPP v.9.7 IP
PER Factors for PA and NJ

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PER Factors for MN, CO & NM
Bio-mass

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PER Factors for California

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What about a
100% renewable grid?

10. www.passivehousenetwork.org
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/
An Introduction to
PHribbon
PHN’s Embodied Carbon
Calculator

11. www.passivehousenetwork.org
How it works
Embodied CO2
EC3 database
44,000 records
EPA CO2
factors
Electricity and other fuels
Beyond Life pathway
% Recycling
% Combustion
% Landfill
EPA End-of-Life
Emissions
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/

12. A1-A3
Raw
material
supply
Transport
Manufacturing
A1 A2 A3
Product
Transport
Construction
and
Installation
A4 A5
Product
Transport
Construction
and
Installation
A4 A5
Use
Maintenance
Repair
B1 B2 B3
In-Use
Replacement
Refurbishment
B4 B5
Deconstruction
and
Demolition
Transport
Waste
processing
C1 C2 C3
End of Life
Disposal
C4
Beyond Life
Reuse,
recovery,
recycling
potential
D
B6
B7
Operational Energy
Operational water
Operational carbon
Whole Life Carbon
Embodied carbon
Upfront carbon
Uses Whole Life Carbon Accounting
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/
www.passivehousenetwork.org
Includes Whole Life
Carbon of the project
(not just the manufacture
data (modules A1-A3)

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Allows Comparisons (and optimization)
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/

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Accounts for Decarbonization of Electric Grid
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/

15. www.passivehousenetwork.org
Let’s review a Cali Project (two versions)
Without PV: With PV:
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/ - thanks to PH Certifier: Steve Mann

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Using four variants for each example
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/
1 2 3 4

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The results SHIFT considerably
Without PV: With PV:
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/

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Let’s take a closer look… (Option with no PV)
Gas doesn’t
decarbonize with
the grid
and
Concrete is the
largest overall %
Typical CO2 Electric | Low C02 Electric | Electric CA Code | TypicalPH CO2 Gas
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/

19. www.passivehousenetwork.org
Option with additional PV…
PV & Concrete
are similar %
Typical CO2 Electric | Low C02 Electric | Electric CA Code | TypicalPH CO2 Gas
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/

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Now viewed together:
With PV:
Without PV:
2.8x
3x
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/
5.4x

21. www.passivehousenetwork.org
kWh of Source Energy per kWh of delivered electricity (2004)
National: 3.315
Western: 2.853
Alaska: 3.568
Hawaii: 3.1917 Eastern: 3.394
National: 2.8
SOURCE: Image - http://www.theenergycollective.com/aqgilbert/2322195/us-electricity-system-15-maps, Data: Passive House Academy
ERCOT: 3.574
What if our RATE of decarbonization changes?

22. www.passivehousenetwork.org
And what if the grid only decarbonized by 2050?
Without PV (2035 clean grid):
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/
Without PV (2050 clean grid):

23. www.passivehousenetwork.org
And what if the grid only decarbonized by 2050?
With PV (2035 clean grid):
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/
With PV (2050 clean grid):

24. www.passivehousenetwork.org
And what if the grid only decarbonized by 2050?
Without PV (2050 clean grid):
Source: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/
With PV (2050 clean grid):
7x

25. www.passivehousenetwork.org
Conclusions:
1. Efficiency is still our FIRST RENEWABLE
2. PV helps us over a longer period of time
(but carries a high upfront carbon cost)
Let’s Discuss…

26. www.passivehousenetwork.org
A PATH FORWARD
Let’s recap?
WHAT’S
AHEAD?
1 2 3 4
PER
applied in
the USA Brief intro to
PHribbon
How it connects
to PER

27. www.passivehousenetwork.org
SOURCE: Illustrations by Bronwyn Barry, info: https://passipedia.org/certification/passive_house_categories/per#the_per_sustainability_assessment
1. Total Demand
Reduction
Classified by end use:
▪ Electricity
▪ Hot Water
▪ Heating
▪ Cooling
▪ Dehumidification
2. Seasonal
Energy Demand
4. Regional Grid
Renewable Supply
Looks at available:
▪ Wind
▪ Solar PV & HW
▪ Hydro
(+ Biomass & District Heat)
6. Renewable Storage
Calculated kWh of:
▪ Short-term &
▪ Long-term energy
5. Regional Peak
Load
Considers local:
▪ Demand Type
▪ Daily Peak Use
▪ Seasonal Peak
7. Appliance Energy
Source
Incentivizes fuel
switching
Considers:
▪ Building size vs roof
area
▪ Supply vs Demand
balance
3. Building
Site & Size
PER: HOW THE NUMBERS ARE DERIVED

28. www.passivehousenetwork.org
EQUITY: HOW IS THIS FACTORED?
SOURCE: Image – California’s All Renewable Energy Future by Bronwyn Barry, CPHD
RENEWABLE CREDITS
ALLOCATED BY
Projected Building Footprint
Incentivizes large-scale and
micro-grid renewable supply.
Off-site generation allowed for
Premium Tier.
Does not penalize commercial, tall, shaded
or urban infill projects with no site
generation capacity.

29. www.passivehousenetwork.org
Summary thoughts and conclusions…
❏ We must incorporate EMBODIED CARBON into our code asap
❏ We must look at embodied carbon WITH operational energy
❏ We must review PV & Storage very carefully… (before making more mandatory)
❏ We still have headroom to improve our first renewable: EFFICIENCY FIRST
Thank you
Bronwyn Barry, RA, CPHD
bronwyn@naphnetwork.org
PHN Policy Lead
Learn more: https://naphnetwork.org/phribbon/