Your students deserve to graduate job-ready, credentialed, and ahead of the curve. When you license building science curriculum from Emu Passive, you give them exactly that—the skills, the accreditation, and the confidence to lead the future of high-performance construction.
Passive House is widely regarded as the most advanced building science standard in the world. Now your trade school or college can teach it, with a fully supported program built for classrooms. This page explains how you can license Passive House curriculum, what’s included, and how our train-the-trainer model makes adoption simple from day one.
Let’s walk through how a building science college partnership with Emu works—and why it’s one of the smartest moves your program can make.
Why Passive House Standards Matter for Your Students
Passive House isn’t just another green building trend. It’s the benchmark for building science worldwide, and it delivers results your students can see, measure, and stand behind.
Buildings built to Passive House standards—commercial, residential, and retrofits alike—are:
- Dramatically more energy efficient than conventional buildings
- Remarkably resilient and durable, built to last for generations
- Healthier to live and work in, with superior indoor air quality
- More comfortable year-round, thanks to consistent, even temperatures
When you adopt building science curriculum rooted in Passive House principles, you position your program as a leader. Students learn the techniques that define the next era of construction—airtightness, thermal bridge control, moisture management, and balanced ventilation—instead of playing catch-up later on the jobsite.
Job-Ready Graduates With a Credential Employers Recognize
Students who complete the curriculum earn a professional PHI Certified Passive House Tradesperson (CPHT) accreditation. That’s an international on-demand credential for high-performance construction—a real, portable qualification that signals readiness from the first day on site.
With this training, your graduates can work on PHI and Phius Passive House projects, as well as high-performance projects not seeking any certification. Just as importantly, they’ll be prepared to meet the codes and standards reshaping construction across the country:
- 2025 New York City Energy Conservation Code, which requires air sealing for commercial buildings of all sizes in NYC
- California Title 24 multifamily compartmentalized airtightness testing
- 2024 IECC and later airtightness requirements
- PHI and Phius Passive House projects
Our curriculum is built around real-life, practical best practices. We translate complex thermal dynamics into clear, job-site language—so students don’t just pass an exam, they know how to build.
A Turnkey Passive House Curriculum, Ready to Teach
We built this program to remove the guesswork. When you choose a turnkey building science partnership with Emu, you receive everything needed to teach Passive House with confidence.
What’s Included in Your Licensing Package
Your turnkey Passive House curriculum license includes a complete set of teaching assets:
- Emu Passive’s Core Curriculum — covers all climate zones of the United States, with real-life best practices for commercial, residential, and retrofit projects
- PowerPoint decks — professionally developed, classroom-ready lesson slides
- High-quality slide deck prints — polished handouts for in-class use
- Emu’s LMS platform — our learning management system for delivery and tracking
- Passive House accreditation exam — the pathway to PHI CPHT certification
This is a genuinely turnkey solution. Instead of building a building science program from scratch, you plug in a proven curriculum and start teaching advanced content right away.
Flexible Formats to Fit Your Program
The core course runs about 16 hours of content. We recommend adding a few hours of review and exam prep to set students up for success. You can deliver the material in the format that works best for your school:
- Live with an instructor — traditional, in-class teaching
- On-demand via Emu’s LMS platform — self-paced learning with instructor reviews
- Hybrid — a blend of live and on-demand for maximum flexibility
Whatever mix you choose, the content stays rigorous, practical, and engaging.
The Train-the-Trainer Program: You’re Never on Your Own
Adopting a new curriculum can feel daunting. That’s why every trade school Passive House partnership includes hands-on support to prepare your instructors and back them up through their first cohorts.
Here’s how the train-the-trainer program works, step by step:
- Boot Camp participation — Your trainers attend an in-person Passive House Boot Camp to experience the material firsthand.
- Emu-led first cohort — We lead the first student cohort while your trainers-in-training shadow and learn the flow.
- School-led second cohort — Your trainers lead the next cohort, with an in-person Emu trainer on hand to support.
- Remote support for future cohorts — We provide remote guidance on exam settings and delivery for all following cohorts.
By the time you’re teaching independently, your instructors will have real classroom reps, hands-on Boot Camp experience, and a direct line to our team. That’s how we make sure your building science college partnership succeeds long term.
Add the Hands-On Component With the Passive Pod Workshop
Once enough students have completed the core curriculum, you can bring the experience full circle with the Passive Pod workshop. This hands-on component comes to your local school, giving students the chance to build and test real assemblies.
The Passive Pod is where theory meets the tools. Students practice air sealing, install insulation, and verify their work—turning classroom knowledge into muscle memory they’ll carry to every future jobsite.
Why Schools Choose to Adopt Passive House Curriculum With Emu
When you adopt Passive House curriculum through Emu, you’re doing more than updating a course catalog. You’re joining a mission.
Our goal is to bring the most advanced building science to the American mainstream market—and to build the workforce we need for a decarbonized, sustainable future filled with healthy, high-performance buildings. We license our curriculum only to vetted training partners, because quality and consistency matter deeply to us.
For your program, the benefits are clear:
- Lead the way with innovative, in-demand content
- Graduate job-ready students with a recognized CPHT credential
- Simplify adoption with a turnkey package and full trainer support
- Prepare students for real codes and real projects across every US climate zone
Ready to License Passive House Curriculum for Your School?
Bringing world-class building science to your students is closer than you think. With a turnkey building science partnership from Emu, you get the curriculum, the platform, the accreditation pathway, and the ongoing support to make it work.
Here’s your next step: reach out to our team to talk through your program goals, timeline, and format. We’ll help you map out a licensing plan—from your trainers’ first Boot Camp to your students’ first CPHT exam—and set your school up to lead in high-performance construction.
Let’s build the future of construction together, one prepared graduate at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to license Passive House curriculum from Emu Passive?
Licensing means your trade school or college receives Emu Passive’s complete, classroom-ready Passive House and building science curriculum to teach your own students. The package includes PowerPoint decks, high-quality slide prints, access to Emu’s LMS platform, and the PHI CPHT accreditation exam. It’s a turnkey solution, so you can adopt advanced building science content without developing a program from scratch.
What credential do students earn?
Students earn the PHI Certified Passive House Tradesperson (CPHT) accreditation. This is a recognized, on-demand credential for high-performance construction that prepares graduates to work on PHI and Phius Passive House projects, as well as high-performance projects not pursuing certification.
Which codes and standards does the curriculum prepare students for?
The curriculum prepares students to meet leading building codes and standards, including the 2025 New York City Energy Conservation Code for commercial air sealing, California Title 24 multifamily compartmentalized airtightness testing, 2024 IECC airtightness requirements, and PHI and Phius Passive House projects.
How long is the course and what formats are available?
The core course is about 16 hours of content, and we recommend adding a few hours for review and exam prep. You can deliver it live with an instructor, on-demand through Emu’s LMS platform with instructor reviews, or in a hybrid format that blends both.
What is included in the licensing package?
Your turnkey Passive House curriculum license includes PowerPoint decks, high-quality slide deck prints, access to Emu’s LMS platform, and the Passive House accreditation exam that leads to PHI CPHT certification.
How does the train-the-trainer program work?
The program has four stages. First, your trainers attend an in-person Passive House Boot Camp. Next, Emu leads the first student cohort while your trainers shadow. Then your trainers lead a second cohort with an in-person Emu trainer supporting. Finally, Emu provides remote support on exam settings for all following cohorts.
Can we add hands-on training?
Yes. Once enough students have completed the core curriculum, you can organize the Passive Pod workshop to bring the hands-on component directly to your local school. Students build and test real assemblies, turning classroom theory into practical, job-site-ready skills.
Who can license the curriculum?
Emu Passive licenses its curriculum to vetted training partners, including trade schools, colleges, and similar organizations. This ensures quality and consistency as we work to bring the most advanced building science to the mainstream market.
How do we get started with a curriculum licensing partnership?
Reach out to Emu Passive to discuss your program goals, timeline, and preferred delivery format. We’ll help you build a licensing plan—from your trainers’ first Boot Camp to your students’ first CPHT exam—so your school is ready to lead in high-performance construction.