Last week we ran our accredited PHI course to become a Certified Passive House Tradesperson. Builders from all over the country joined us at our office in Arvada (Denver), Colorado, for five days of intense learning and growing. We've now…
Tag: energy efficiency
Passive design/build as the healthy and smart pathway to Net Zero.
As the construction industry pushes forward to solutions that are absolutely necessary for the future of sustainable life on this planet, there is an essential conversation that has to take place about the role of energy balance in the context…
Read More Passive design/build as the healthy and smart pathway to Net Zero.
The Window as a “Solar Panel”: Light Transmittance & Solar Factor G
With this article, we cover two very important aspects of glazings: light transmission and the solar heat gain coefficient.
These parameters are extremely important for performing buildings and passive houses, however they are often overlooked by both designers and window manufacturers.
Energy efficiency of windows: the Uf value
After covering thermal transmittance U and resistance R of opaque assemblies, and insulated glass, we now cover one of the most critical areas of the thermal envelope: window frames.
Good windows are the cornerstone of a performing building for both comfort and energy efficiency, specially if it is a passive house.
Thermal Transmittance U vs Th. Resistance R
To achieve thermal comfort and energy efficiency in buildings, a primary role is played by the thermal envelope: this is required to thermally decouple the indoor environment from the ever-changing external conditions, both in summer and in winter.
The structures of the thermal envelope need to be able to control the amount of heat migrating through them: the thermal resistance and the thermal transmittance are two ways to describe this phenomenon.
Insulation materials: discovering the lambda value
The lambda value of a material indicates its ability to transfer heat: this property is therefore very important in the design of highly performing buildings and passive houses.
The information commonly available is unfortunately quite confusing: with this article, we'll try and shed some light on the topic.
PHPP 9: a misunderstanding?
At the 2015 International Passive House Conference in Leipzig, Germany, the Passivhaus Institut presented version 9 of PHPP, which includes many new features to design passive buildings.
Many articles have been written about the new primary energy method and the certification classes. In our mind, however, PHPP 9 has more important new features: we explain what they are.
The compactness ratio or Form Factor of a building
When addressing the energy efficiency of a building, one of the most important players in the game is the compactness of its thermal envelope.
Is there a way to measure the compactness of a building? Yes: it’s the compactness ratio.
Energy Efficiency: the importance of site supervision
On our Facebook page, we are regularly publishing images from our Cavriago construction site, where we are building two Passive Houses. With this article, we would like to show just two examples of the many construction errors can occur during the scope of the works, proving that careful site supervision is necessary to meet a high level of quality and efficiency.