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The international Passivhaus Standard produces exceptionally healthy, comfortable, durable and energy efficient buildings in cold and hot climates. Is there any need for it in ‘Goldilocks Climates’ around the world, though? You know, places where the porridge climate isn’t too hot and isn’t too cold, it’s just right.

The short answer is, yes: the same benefits apply. And in California, all new residential buildings will need to be Net Zero Energy from 2020. Passivhaus is a reliable means of getting to Net Zero Energy (if you must) while enjoying all the comfort, health and durability benefits that other routes to Net Zero Energy don’t guarantee.

A ‘Goldilocks Climate’ doesn’t mean Passivhaus is all plain sailing, though, as I found out from the owner of the first Passivhaus in Los Angeles.

I met Xavier Gaucher in California in October 2017, while he was still building the first Passivhaus in Los Angeles: the “Perlita Passive House.” And it is not just a Passivhaus, but a Passivhaus retrofit (EnerPHit). Los Angeles has one of those ‘Goldilocks Climates’ where the temperature is hot in summer (15 – 28 °C), warm in winter (8 – 21 °C) and there isn’t a huge overnight swing.

What can we learn from the challenges Xavier faced designing and building a Passivhaus (retrofit) in a ‘Goldilocks Climate’ and getting to Net Zero Energy?

Title Image "Passivhaus Goldilocks in LA"

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This blog post is a review of “Passive House in Different Climates: The Path to Net Zero” published in 2016 by Routledge. The authors of the book are Mary James and James Bill. I would have written this review shortly after the book was published but unfortunately, it coincided with my blogging hiatus as I moved from the UK to NZ.

You may know of Mary James from her previous books on Passive House in the US, including “American Passive House Developments” that I reviewed earlier. As well as print books, Mary has produced an extensive catalogue of eBooks about Passivhaus in the US that can be found on the Low Carbon Productions website.

James Bill is an architect, certified Passivhaus Designer and founding member of Passive House California.

The book starts with a brief overview of the international Passivhaus Standard, the building physics principles and how it is being applied in different climates. It then launches into case studies from each of the four climate types identified that are different to the cool temperate climate of Germany. The climate types are; Marine, Cold and Very Cold, Mixed-Dry and Hot-Dry, Mixed-Humid and Hot-Humid. The majority of the case studies are from the US, but there are also projects in Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Mexico, Spain, China and Korea showcased.

While many of the projects in the book are new build residences, there are several other typologies represented including offices, a library, multi-unit residential and retrofits.

Essentially, this is a handbook of specific Passivhaus case studies in different climates. Each project has good quality colour photographs, fairly detailed technical descriptions, general arrangement drawings and detailed technical drawings illustrating the specific construction employed. Some of the design approaches suited to the different climates are explored in the introductory section, otherwise, it is left up to the reader to learn directly from the specific case studies.

“Passive House in Different Climates: The Path to Net Zero” is an excellent collection of well-illustrated Passivhaus case studies from different climates.

052 Passivhaus Different Climates_Title

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In many parts of the world, we take it for granted that we have access to clean air. Or at least we think we do. As we improve the quality of our homes and other buildings, we are starting to get a more realistic picture of what we are breathing in along with our supposed clean air.

Air pollution has a significant and pervasive impact on public health. According to the World Health Organization, it is now considered “the world’s largest single environmental health risk,” with more than three million people dying every year as a result. This is more than twice the number of people that die in vehicle accidents each year.

Is your ‘clean air’ really clean and healthy?

051 Passivhaus Bioweapon Defence
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The first thing you read about Passivhaus is often the set of technical requirements and performance metrics. It’s got to be airtight. No thermal bridges are allowed. 15kWh/m2.a, 10W/m2, 120kWh/m2.a, 0.6 ach. . . But these figures don’t help you understand how to design a Passivhaus building. These figures don’t tell you what is different about designing a Passivhaus building to designing any other building.

Passivhaus might be the world’s most stringent and fastest growing building energy efficiency standard, but does it work in urban locations? Must a Passivhaus building strictly face south?

This post is a simple and brief introduction to 5 things to know about Passivhaus before you get into the technical requirements:

  1. Integrated Design
  2. Location
  3. Orientation
  4. Form
  5. Construction System

Once you have a grasp of these 5 things, then you’ll be in a good place to start digging deeper into what is required for Passivhaus.
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This blog post is a review of “Hyperlocalization of Architecture: Contemporary Sustainable Archetypes” published in 2015. This book is written by Andrew Michler and published by eVolo.

You may know of Andrew Michler from his writing on Inhabitat, prior to that, he was a builder. He is a certified Passivhaus Consultant and has designed and built his own foam-free off-grid Passivhaus home in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

The book starts with two bold (but accurate, I would argue) assertions about modern architecture;

A majority of buildings have failed on the most basic level of interacting with the place and people they aspire to serve.

and

The principle of modern design was severed from the realities of a building as an environmental intervention by relying on technology to overcome conditions rather than adapt to them.

From this starting point, “Hyperlocalization of Architecture: Contemporary Sustainable Archetypes” launches into a global journey to seek out contemporary vernacular architecture. In other words, buildings that embody an attitude of hyperlocalization. Buildings that stand in direct contrast to the asserted failings of modern architecture.

The book is a joyous and lavishly illustrated romp from the US to Australia with stop -offs along the way in Japan, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Mexico. As you might expect, the stop-off in Germany focusses on a stunning example of Passivhaus architecture.

Each location has an essay by Andrew Michler followed by a selection of building profiles. Each building is documented with multiple superb colour photographs, the majority of which are by Andrew Michler. Sometimes there are also drawings and diagrams, and in all cases, there is a written narrative by the architect.

“Hyperlocalization of Architecture: Contemporary Sustainable Archetypes” is a beautiful written and visual source guide for contemporary vernacular architecture across the globe.

The Place of Passivhaus in Contemporary Vernacular Architecture

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