Passive House Article: Transformation

By Chris Ballard, CEO of Passive House Canada

Passive House Canada was created with a simple premise: to change how Canada builds and retrofits its buildings for thermal comfort, health, resiliency and low energy.

And it’s happening.

We are changing the marketplace through education and advocacy, by running local and national events, and by providing excellent member services. Our founding members recognized that market transformation would only be achieved if there was fundamental government policy and regulatory reform. They understood it could only be achieved if quality education courses were developed, national and international networks created and members were supported in their communities.

When the founding members first met in 2013, such transformation was a distant dream, but the world has been quickly waking up to the reality of climate change, the need for better buildings and bringing public policy in line with our mission. Today our fundamental mission is still to make high-performance Passive House buildings the norm through the advancement of public policy and an effective regulatory framework which will improve building codes and standards across the country.

We’ve seen rapid adoption of the Passive House Standard, not only among industry professionals wanting to build better for clients, but from government of all levels recognizing the important role that high performance buildings have in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The successes that we have experienced are directly attributable to the dedication of industry professionals and elected officials who are passionate about sustainability. Their momentum and drive have given us the privilege of assisting all levels of government in building policy development; of supporting the growth of a national membership of over 1,200 members (in eight provinces and two territories); and of delivering hundreds of training courses to over 5,000 registrations across Canada. Over 10,000 people subscribe to our newsletter and bulletins, and scores more learn about Passive House building standards through our social media platforms.

Transforming how Canadians build buildings is not easy. In the face of the work ahead, it is important to stop and celebrate why so many of us are invested in this process. While the initial driver is, of course, environmental, and the common goal is to mitigate climate change, this alone does not catalyze market transformation, represent the motivation of everyone involved, or simplify the process of managing change.

For many, the primary motivation is a desire to have better buildings. The unparalleled comfort, health, durability, resilience, and affordability of buildings offering Passive House levels of performance are reasons enough to make the choice.

Affordable housing advocates may focus on the reduced costs of ownership, operation, and utility cost to tenants. Homeowners may dwell on the comfort. But what we all have in common is the desire to change how we live, work and recreate in our spaces.

Some professionals, developers, and trades are attracted by the quality of work such buildings entail and enjoy the pride of workmanship. Others know high-performance building regulations are coming soon and are looking for a competitive advantage and a market differentiator.

Regardless of the reason for your interest in buildings delivering this level of performance, we are pleased to have you join us in achieving our mission.

We are at a pivotal time in the development of regulations concerning its buildings, making it crucial to understand the challenges.

The advancement of public policy and an effective regulatory framework has been at the core of Passive House Canada’s mission since inception. Canada is making progress on climate change in the building industry charting a pathway to net zero building codes by 2030, but there is still so much more to be done.

We know our role will change and likely diminish as building codes and standards approach Passive House performance levels, and we can’t think of a better reason to become redundant.

Taking a mission-first approach enables us to make more rapid progress, facilitating collaboration with industry and consumers in addition to government. We can best achieve our mission by collaborating with aligned groups and individuals, and we invite you to do the same.

In the end, it does not matter to us why people want better buildings — we simply wish to see them become the norm.

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October 10, 2019January 3, 2020

Interview with Rob Bernhardt, CEO of Passive House Canada

Passive House on an upward curve

Rob works to advance building energy efficiency. A certified Passive House consultant and the developer of several certified Passive House projects, Rob is familiar with the economic and social advantages of high-performance buildings.

What is a Passive House Building and how does it work in Canada??

Passive House (Passivhaus) is considered to be the most rigorous voluntary energy-based standard in the design and construction industry today. They consume up to 90 percent less heating and cooling energy than conventional buildings. It is recognized internationally as the proven best way to build for comfort, affordability and energy efficiency of residential, institutional and commercial buildings, through all stages of design, construction, and livability.

The Passive House approach works because it’s a pragmatic combination of applied building science and economics. Designs and components vary to suit the local climate, enabling comparable levels of comfort, hygiene and performance in varied climates. All Passive House buildings are designed using detailed energy modelling software, which allows the design team modify the architecture and specify the combination of insulation and components required to bring a building to the required performance standard in their own climate zone.

Why was Passive House Canada created?

Passive House Canada was incorporated by practitioners wanting to transform Canada’s buildings, making the multiple benefits of high performance buildings the norm. We started with few high-performance resources in Canada but have ramped up resources through educational services, events, advocacy and communications over the few years we have existed. With time Canada’s policy, regulatory and incentive environment has become very support of Passive House as the level of building efficiency required for Canada to meet its Paris commitments become apparent.

Why do you think the movement has been successful so far?

The successes that we have experienced are directly attributable to the dedication of industry professionals and elected officials who are passionate about sustainability.

Their momentum and enthusiasm has given us the privilege of assisting all levels of government in building policy development, the ability to support the growth of a national membership of over 1,100 members (in eight provinces and two territories) and deliver hundreds of courses, with over 5,000 registrations across Canada.

This appetite for a higher standard of building bridged partnerships resulting in the launch of Canada’s first Zero Emissions Building Exchange in Vancouver and a successful inaugural national conference with over 350 delegates attending each year.

Why do you think people are making the change to Passive House buildings?

While the initial driver is, of course, environmental and the common goal to mitigate climate change, this alone does not catalyze market transformation, represent the motivation of everyone involved, or simplify the process of managing change.

For many, the primary motivation is a desire to have better buildings. The unparalleled comfort, health, durability, resilience and affordability of buildings offering Passive House levels of performance are reason enough to make the choice. Affordable housing advocates may focus on the reduced costs of ownership, operation and utility costs to tenants, homeowners on the comfort, while absolutely everyone craves a constant supply of filtered fresh outdoor air.

Some professionals, developers and trades are attracted by the quality of work such buildings entail and enjoy the pride of workmanship. Others know high performance building regulations are coming and are looking for a competitive advantage, a market differentiator, in establishing their company brand. Increasingly, some are simply responding to the developing market for Passive House buildings and their components, which they know will grow.

Why do you feel Canada is winning in the change to Passive House building?

During our 2018 conference, the federal government took the opportunity to say it is probable that the final tier of the Net Zero Energy Ready Code will be very close to Passive House standards. This is a significant win for Canada, and with recent budget support we can see our national buildings strategy taking root across cities and provinces, nationwide.

We know our role at PHC will change and likely diminish as building codes and standards approach Passive House performance levels and we can’t think of a better reason to become redundant.

Taking a “mission first” approach enables more rapid progress, facilitating collaboration with industry and consumers in addition to government. We can best achieve our mission by collaborating with aligned groups and individuals, and we invite you to do the same.

October 10, 2019October 10, 2019

VIEWPOINT

Making building performance a selling point, and moving on from the glass tower

By Richard Witt, Executive Principal, Quadrangle & Michelle Xuereb, Director of Innovation, Quadrangle

Sustainable building design is not a new concept. With the development and implementation of LEED in the early 1990s, sustainability became mainstream but has struggled to effect real change in the way we think about building performance, requirements or aesthetics. Economics and sustainable building design are at odds – sustainability is an extra cost, weighed against budget and relative value.

The Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat concluded in their study Downtown High-Rise vs. Suburban Low-Rise Building that recently completed buildings significantly underperform in comparison to their counterparts from 50 years ago. The days of the glass skyscraper are coming to an end. Passive systems direct the way forward, as opposed to compensating for inefficiency with active systems.

Buildings are the key contributor and solution to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

According to the latest inventory release (2017) by The City of Toronto, 52% of GHG emissions in Toronto come from buildings, predominantly from burning natural gas to heat indoor spaces and water. Consequently, buildings must also be a climate change solution. The City of Toronto recognizes this in its Zero Emissions Building Framework, which is why the Toronto Green Standard (TGS) has us on a path to net zero buildings by 2030. What about the code? There is a plan to move Toronto to net zero by 2030, but it is not clear, given the current political climate, whether this proposal will be executed. Passive design solutions increase durability and climate change resilience while lowering energy usage, embodied energy from maintenance, and GHG emissions.

Passive solutions allow us to both mitigate and adapt to changing weather.

Based on the Climate Driver Study completed for the City of Toronto, we know that days are getting hotter, there are more of them and there are more of them strung together in heat waves. We are also experiencing larger storms, with heavier amounts of precipitation falling at once. The main issue we will have with our buildings is overheating and flash flooding – both in combination with power outages. This again reinforces the need for passive design solutions.

These power outages generally happen on our hottest and coldest days as a result of people cranking their AC or heating. The higher the total effective R-value of the building, the better they are able to maintain the indoor air temperature in the case of extreme temperatures without power.

The City of Toronto recommends that people be able to function independently for a minimum of 72 hours without power. In a residential building, maintaining indoor temperature is key to allowing people to shelter in place within their homes.

• At a basic level, a building is meant to shelter people from the weather – to keep people warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot. Glass is a very poor insulator, leaving residents feeling physically uncomfortable and paying high energy bills.

• As architects, the best thing you can do is reduce the amount of glass and increase the amount of well-insulated walls. We understand that keeping windows to about 40% of the wall area is the single most effective way to reduce the energy footprint of a building. Real walls with windows may seem old fashioned, but they don’t need to be. Our focus is on creating a thoughtful, well-designed building with an aesthetic that lends itself to real walls and windows.

• Unlike glass, insulation slows down the movement of heat. This allows you to hold onto heat during winter, making people more comfortable and more likely to actually use the spaces at the perimeter of their unit.

April 5, 2019April 11, 2019

Charting New Territory in Passive House

Clayton Community Centre

Located in Surrey BC, the Clayton Community Centre combines three key uses: a visual and performing arts centre, a community library and a recreation centre. The design approach for the project was to move beyond simply co-locating these centres and instead truly integrate them into a single community building.

By Melissa Higgs, HCMA Architecture + Design

The site is heavily forested, an increasingly rare condition that informed the architectural response and program organization. The concept for the building is a forest, with diverse uses collected within the tree canopy. Between the three key program blocks, a large open, unprogrammed space on the ground floor evoking a clearing in the forest, acts as a gathering space.

Energy Considerations

While the desire for integration was a key driver in locating the spaces within the building, another was the very aggressive, ultra-low energy targets set for this project. While Passive House is a more common standard in Europe, the Clayton Community Centre will be the first community centre in North America to achieve the standard, and at 7500m² is believed will be the largest PH certified community centre in the world.

A North American Precedent

As much of the Passive House work in North America has been realized in the residential sector, whether small or large scale, there are few completed non-residential projects from which to learn. By designing complex non-residential buildings, design professionals are covering new ground or “charting new territory”.

The purpose of this article is to identify challenges and share learnings regarding the design of large-scale Passive House civic buildings in a North American context. The project team learned early on that the process of design would be significantly different than that for a similar building designed to even the most ambitious energy targets of the more familiar LEED certification system.

At the beginning of the schematic design, the team came to understand that Passive House objectives would be a significant driver on the building’s form and layout.

Sun path studies were primary informants of the orientation of key spaces including the fitness centre and gymnasium—which was sometimes in opposition to other key objectives for spatial arrangement.

Simultaneously, the project team realized that the process with their client needed to shift dramatically. The project team worked closely with the clients from very early on to anticipate each room’s use and occupancy pattern (operating hours, types of equipment, numbers of computers for staff, etc.). This step was key to having an accurate estimation of plug loads and occupancy schedules, at a stage where the overall design and the client’s ability to anticipate operational details were not yet fixed.

Developed from those assumptions, the first PHPP model caused the design team to realise that the challenges this project was going to encounter—namely the high cooling loads and Primary Energy Renewables—were different than any typical residential Passive House project.

By Melissa Higgs, HCMA Architecture + Design. Mechanical content support from Integral Group.

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Category: Passive House

Passive House Article: Transformation