News Blog

We're pleased to announce that Passive Buildings Canada is now officially a federally incorporated non-profit organization. We're a member-based organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the Passive House (Passivhaus) low-energy standard for all building types.

Passive Buildings Canada is modeled after the very successful Austria Passive House Interest Group (IG Passivhaus Österreich), which also had a role in the first certified Passive House in Canada, the Whistler Passive House. Members of our organization are encouraged to mentor each other, sharing experience and knowledge between practitioners in an effort to create the most energy efficient, durable and affordable buildings as possible.

Passive Buildings Canada is similar to a professional society, rather than a licensing or standards body. CanPHI (Canadian Passive House Institute) is moving towards becoming a certifying organization, and developing acceptable Canadian alternatives to referenced standards.

What's in a name?

We decided on Passive Buildings because a more literal translation of Passivhaus is "passive energy building". The standard has been applied not just to homes, but also to schools, offices, hotels, and more.

We have a web forum set up at http://passivebuildings.ca where discussions are starting to take place. The forums should become a repository of information and experiences about Passive House solutions in Canada.

The first meeting of members will take place mid-July, and this can be your opportunity to vote to elect the board of directors, or even to run for a position on the board yourself. However, to vote, as well as take part in the professional development and peer review you need to be a paid member! Members receive generous discounts on training - enough to pay for your membership alone. So what's there to lose? Join today!

Training & Certification, or the classic poultry and ovum problem.

Training and certification of Passive House professionals, and certification of Passive House buildings, is done a little bit differently from other programs that you may be familiar with.

The concept of Passive House follows a type of open-source approach. The best way to become certified as a professional in Passive House is to actually build a building that is certified. Currently, the only certifying body for buildings in North America is PHIUS (Passive House Institute U.S.). Future certifying of buildings is in the planning stages by CanPHI. (Canadian Passive House Institute). And you can always go to the place that started it all, PHI (Passivhaus Institut, in Darmstadt), or one of the other organizations in Europe that certifies buildings.

There is a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem here. While it is possible to design and build a Passive House, unless the house is your own, it may be difficult to convince someone that you know what you are doing. And you probably will make some mistakes the first time through. That is where training and certification of people comes in.

What the family that lives downstairs is doing...

The Passive House Institute U.S. has created a Certified Passive House Consultant designation based on nine days of training split into three phases. Following the successful completion of an Americanized inch-pound version of the European exam, the Certified Passive House Consultant designation remains for two years until you have actually worked on a Passive House that has been successfully built, at which point you can continue to use the designation. The USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) and CaGBC (Canada Green Building Council) have made similar changes to the LEED Accredited Professional program to include experience requirements, and have even set up a separate organization to handle the accreditation of professionals.

Passive Buildings Canada with Ryerson University have invited PHIUS to bring their certified Passive House Consultants' training program in Toronto beginning very soon, on June 16 2010. Paid Members of Passive Buildings Canada receive a discount of US$50 per session, for a total of $150 if you take all three phases. There is an application process with screening to make sure you have the prerequisite knowledge before entering the training program. For an application package and registration details visit http://www.passivehouse.us/passiveHouse/PHIUSConsultantsTraining.html and send an email to training@passivehouse.us If you are interested in this program, please apply right away to ensure your spot.

... and what the folks in the attic are working away on.

CanPHI has announced training that begins in late October in Vancouver, and then moves on with a whirlwind tour of Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Saskatoon, and finally Edmonton in 2011. And there is no place better than Edmonton in a January to focus your mind on building in cold climates! This training is shorter, lasting five days, and is entirely metric. Rather than create its own consultant designation, CanPHI is offering training that leads toward the European certification as a Passive House Planner once you've actually had a certified house constructed.  Paid Members of Passive Buildings Canada receive a discount of $100. Get the full details at http://passivehouse.ca/training

Which to choose?

Both the U.S. and Canadian training programs have a significant focus on the PHPP modeling software, used for compliance. The U.S. training has been around for a number of years and many sessions have already taken place, while the Canadian sessions are still under development, based on the most current European training materials, and slated to occur in the winter instead of the summer. There are some price differences as well, and slightly different discounts for members of Passive Buildings Canada. Do some more reading, and choose whichever suits you best.