Category: Lessons

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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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As the EU moves towards ‘Near Zero Energy Buildings‘ and the UK moves towards implementing this by requiring ‘Zero Carbon Buildings’, understanding the Passivhaus Standard as one reliable route towards delivering ‘Zero Carbon Buildings’ is vital.

Passivhaus is known as the world’s leading building energy efficiency standard. It is also a comfort standard with stringent indoor thermal comfort and ventilation requirements. The majority of industry discussion around passivhaus focuses on the technical details and energy benchmarks required to meet the standard. While this is understandable as we come to grips with the challenges of delivering buildings to such a high standard, there is less attention paid to the benefits delivered by the standard and wider aspects of the passivhaus design process.

11 Passivhaus Pointers
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I was first introduced to Passivhaus several year back when we decided to pursue it in the architect’s practice where I work. It seemed like the right step forward in so many ways. However, learning about the Passivhaus Standard and everything that is required for certification, presented many challenges. There were some technical challenges, but probably the biggest challenges were to the received wisdom that I held firmly onto at the time.

This somewhat tongue-in-cheek post explores some of those mindset challenges with the benefit of hindsight. It also explores some other mindset challenges that arise from delivering passivhaus architecture.

010 10 Things I hate About Passivhaus

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