We’d like to introduce you to an amazing group of professionals visiting us this week from all over North America for our 4-day course to become PHI Certified Passive House Tradespeople.
We’re on the last day of class now, gearing up for the exam tomorrow morning. Topics covered in the course include:
- Passive House Basics
- Economics of American Passive Building
- Insulation
- Thermal Bridges
- Windows
- Air Tightness
- Moisture Management
- Mechanical Ventilation
- Heating/Cooling
- Quality Assurance
Each day, we start out in the classroom here at our offices in Tradecraft Industries, in Denver, Colorado, teaching from our newly revamped curriculum for North American builders. We then migrate for an end-of-day hands-on session at the workshop of Colorado Wood Designs. And – full disclosure – occasionally we hit up one of Denver’s craft breweries after a long day of learning 😉
The mockups in the workshop session are miniature Passive House boxes, which each team of students gets to use to apply their classroom knowledge. At the end of the week, we’ll even run some tests on them to see how the teams did (stay tuned and follow our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!)
The workshop portion of this course is extremely important for hands-on tradesperson learning, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help from our partners – Beartooth Passive, Alpen HPP, SIGA Cover, and Zehnder America. Any other manufacturers wishing to donate materials to any of our classes or our affiliates’ classes, please contact us. (Hint: we’d love an insulation company in our growing family of Pilot Manufacturer Partners!)
So, without further ado, allow us to introduce Emu’s 2018 CPHT class members:
Josh Oqueli of Bonsai Design+Build,
a Denver-based design + build firm focusing on high performance, sustainable + green residential and commercial architecture and construction.
Greg Fisher of Greg D. Fisher, Architect,
a Ft. Collins-based design + service-centered architectural practice focused on simple, progressive, authentic and responsible designs.
David Edwards of Earth Bound Homes,
a remodeling and custom home builder in Santa Clara, CA, specializing in beautiful architect designed homes in the Silicon Valley.
Chris Smith of Zehnder America,
a North American supplier of high quality, comfortable, indoor ventilation solutions.
Alex Everett of Everett Building,
a single-family home builder based in Jackson, WY.
Chris Janin of Production Solar,
a Colorado-based developer of solar systems for energy production.
Mark Vigil of Needbased,
an integrated-design + services firm in Santa Fe, NM that prioritizes efficient building practices, including Passive House and Net Zero considerations.
Raul Rodriguez and Scott McCormick of Tierra Concepts,
a Santa Fe-based custom homes and renovations design/build firm, incorporating green and high-performance building guidelines.
Stephen Scott of Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley,
a Longmont, CO, affiliate of the nationally renowned non-profit, HFHSVV is dedicated to providing simple, decent, affordable, attractive housing for low-income families.
Steve Mann, CPHD, of Home Energy Services,
based in Berkley, CA, working with homeowners, builders, developers, and architects to make both new and existing buildings more energy efficient and sustainable.
Rhett Major, CPHD, The Energy Doctor,
a Green Building Alliance trainer, a PHIUS+ Rater, and a healthy-homes specialist with 30 years of experience in testing and inspection in Irwin, PA.
Rick Eckstrom, CPHD
a Green Building Alliance trainer, structural engineer, alternative energy tech and Passive House expert from Pittsburgh, PA.
Matt Young,
the newest member of the Emu mob, working with us part-time on energy modeling for passive house projects.
Please wish them all luck on their accreditation exam tomorrow morning!