COVID-19 and Passivehouse
The past two weeks at the North American Passivehouse Network Conference have been full of talks and presentations ranging from technical details to academic discussions.
Two talks our participants enjoyed were one, the technical details of heating and cooling with heat pumps. The engineers explained how they use heat exchangers to remove heat from outgoing wastewater lines and transfer it to heat your house. More energy recovered!
The second, was yet another very interesting owners’ roundtable where Alex Bernstein from Bernstein Real Estate talked about the Flow Chelsea, a 21 story rental building that got completely leased within 4-5 weeks of getting to the market. Bernstein made it clear that Passivehouse is very marketable.
Last week concluded with a discussion on COVID-19 and Passivehouse. The discussion cited an article featured on Archinect, which I’ve included below, which argues “that the “Hygiene Ventilation” approach is only really feasible from an energy perspective for Passive House buildings, while conventional buildings might require up to six times the amount of energy to maintain 100% fresh air circulation.”
Below are some of the other news and articles that caught our attention. These include a candid view on funds dedicated to coronavirus relief and how that kind of effort could solve climate change from Rem Koolhaas, as well as another interview from Dr. Diana Urge-Vorsatz, who is part of the IPCC.
We’ve been hearing a lot about LL97, and now the Building Energy Exchange just launched a carbon emission calculator with a 30 minute training session scheduled for August 10th. The emissions calculator helps to estimate if your building would need to pay a carbon penalty and what that would be.
Lastly, I have 2 articles that deal with electrification of buildings. First changes in the energy code that prioritize electrification. A most notable change is that residential buildings will need to provide power for electric cars.
After that, you can read about larger multifamily buildings have a harder time switching to electrification and what multifamily buildings are being prioritized.
What I’m reading
Interview with Dr. Diana Urge-Vorsatz of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Passive House Accelerator
"Hygiene ventilation" and the case for Green Stimulus, Archinect
NYC LL97 Carbon Emissions Calculator, Building Energy Exchange
2021 Energy Code Prioritizes Electrification of Residences, BuidingGreen
Which Multifamily Buildings Should Be Electrified First?, BuidingGreen
