Our Journey into Passive House Design
The Passive House movement wasn’t on our radar for a long time. Coming from corporate architecture and luxury residential construction, we were insulated from it. But that changed when I (Bonnie) stumbled upon the Passive House Institute (PHI) Conference in Denver in October 2023.
Discovering Passive House at PHI Denver 2023
I was just looking for continuing education credits for my architecture license. Usually, that means vendor-led lunch-and-learns or online courses. Getting 12 to 24 credits each year is a slow process. So when I saw the PHI conference offered 20-30 credits, I had to check it out.
The event felt different from other architecture conferences. It was small, diverse, and international. I found Passive House building materials I had been searching for—thermally broken windows, prefabricated buildings, and more. I also discovered things I had never considered, like energy recovery ventilators (ERVs), carbon-negative insulation, and the Passive House Standard itself.
Committing to PHIUS Certification
That conference sparked something. By June 2024, I signed up for the PHIUS Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC) course. I debated between PHI’s Certified Designer program and PHIUS, but PHIUS felt more relevant to Passive projects in the U.S.. Still, I remain fascinated by PHI’s global perspective and plan to attend more international conferences.
At first, the CPHC course felt overwhelming—sizing heat pumps, using WUFI Passive for energy modeling, and diving deep into building science. But I had already committed, so I pushed through.
Applying Passive House Principles
Not gonna lie—it was a math-heavy course. Not quite as tough as the structural engineering registration exam, but close. In the end, I passed. Now, I’m eager to apply what I’ve learned.
To start, I’m testing the new PHIUS REVIVE 24 standard on our own home. This standard focuses on Passive retrofits, making existing buildings carbon-neutral and highly energy-efficient.
Stay tuned as I document this journey into Passive design, deep energy retrofits, and sustainable architecture. More to come soon!