How Do We Get from Passive House to Truly Low-Carbon Buildings?

The PHIUS Passive House Primary Energy (PE) criteria is currently set at 6200 kWh/occupant/year. In the presenters’ experience, recent multifamily Passive House projects have not met PE by passive measures alone but have required onsite renewable energy generation. Is it possible for cost-effective passive measures to meet the PE goal, or is additional renewable energy effectively a necessary requirement of Passive House? What are our prospects given the anticipated and much more rigorous 4200 KWhr/occupant/year PE threshold? Does the PHIUS calculation ratio of onsite renewable usage to total generation help or hinder? The presenters ask for audience input as we discuss existing methods and present new strategies for effectively meeting a gradually shrinking PE criteria for multifamily Passive House projects.

Session Chair(s): 

Event Time: 

Thursday, March 8, 2018 - 10:30am to 12:00pm

Room / Location: 

Harbor 1

Experience Level: 

2 (some prior experience/knowledge helpful)

CEU Information: 

BOS18-106 - AIA 1.5 LU/HSW; BPI 1.5, MA CSL 1.5

Learning Objectives: