Sample Course Agenda (PDF) - Passive House Institute US

PHIUS
North American Passive House Consultant Training NaCPHC (Updated 12.05.11)
The training courses will enable you to put the principles of Passive House design
and construction into practice in all climate zones of North America – specifying
economical locally available components, materials and mechanical equipment -
take the first step towards becoming a certified Passive House Consultant, CPHC.
The certification training course consists of two training sessions of 5 and 4
days and in a few locations of one 9-day session of the below specified content
and exercises that teaches the principles and tools of passive energy design
and consulting. The course will train and enable the participant to put a
measurable and verifiable very low energy metric and holistic systems design
into practice to design highly comfortable very low energy buildings with
exceptional indoor air quality at an affordable cost. Energy, design,
engineering, construction and other related professionals will be provided with
the skills necessary to design and consult on certifiable building projects that
meet the Passive House building Energy Standard for all climate zones of
North America. After passing a final exam administered at the end of all
sessions participants earn the professional designation “Certified Passive
House Consultant, CPHC”.
[Please note: Participants will be determined through an admissions application
process. The specific requirements and application down load can be found here:
www.passivehouse.us.
Passive House Alliance members – members of the professional information and
advocacy network of passive house professionals - receive a discount for training
and exam as noted below. Not yet a member Visit here: www.PHAUS.org]
Passive House Consultant Training Part I
Passive House Basic Design Principles
Passive House Energy Balancing and Modeling - Introduction for Single and Multi-family
Residential Passive Houses
Envelope Design & Detailing
The first 5-day session focuses on basic low energy design practices, theory of
heat transfer, an introduction to various software tools useful for the Passive
House design process: the PHPP – Passive House Planning Package and its
methodology to calculate the specific energy performance of a building - the
European Passive House modeling tool, REM/Rate - RESNET’s (Residential

Energy Services Network) modeling tool that allocates the widely adopted
HERS index, WUFI plus – the ORNL/Fraunhofer energy and hygrothermal
modeling tool and THERM – the LBNL thermal bridge calculation program.
The course is interspersed with practical exercises practicing the design of a
single family home, practicing its energy balancing as well as the use of heat
transfer and hygrothermal software tools. Various Passive House solutions
based on over 30 years of research and experiences and building practice in
the U.S. and Canada as well as in Europe, presented in a compact form, will
illustrate the process and the specifics that need to be considered when
designing a Passive House building. The session continues with an energy
balancing and design exercise for a multi-family project. The exercise is
followed by a general discussion of the thermal envelope requirements. It has
to be insulated and constructed in accordance to the climate, has to achieve
superior air-tightness and has to be thermal-bridge free. Specific requirements
for opaque and transparent building assemblies will be discussed. Building
science topics amongst others are heat/moisture concerns, vapor barrier
placement, diffusion open designs versus designs that dry in one direction,
Passive House building suitable materials, components and details.
Passive House Consultant Training Part II
Mechanical Systems Design
Passive House Retrofits and Non-Residential Buildings
Quality Assurance and Economic Feasibility
Micro-load and mini-need mechanical systems design for North American
climates are the centerpiece of cost effective Passive Houses. The mechanical
system is an essential component of the Passive House building design. Aside
from knowledge about the ventilation system, various space heating and
cooling options available on the North American market will be discussed.
Detailed knowledge about those options will allow the consultant to design the
most energy and cost optimized system for each individual situation.
The next two days focus on a general overview of retrofit applications, related
building science issues and commercial applications. In an exercise, a school
building is being designed and calculated. The goal of this session is to
highlight the most important differences for retrofit applications and nonresidential
building projects. For retrofit applications, typical challenges will be
discussed such as limits of interior insulation thicknesses, retrofit options for
ventilation systems, reduction of thermal bridges at the perimeter and
footing, insulation of existing slabs and foundations, basement ceilings and
roof insulation solutions. For commercial buildings, the influence of higher

ventilation and internal loads on the mechanical system will be discussed.
Quality assurance is a major aspect of Passive House building implementation.
This final part of the session will discuss the implications on the construction
process: drawing set requirements, bidding process, contractor training,
sequenced scheduling of quality assurance measures and check points.
Economic feasibility strategies and cost-benefit analyses examples are going to
be discussed as well.
Instructional Goals part I-II:
• Knowing the definition of the Passive House building energy metrics and
its difference in regards to various other low energy standards currently
on the US market
• Know how to use energy balancing to accurately predict the energy
performance of residential designs or existing buildings for a Passive
House residential building in any North American climate
• Know Passive House building envelope requirements, components and
materials
• Detail a Passive House building envelope, single and multi-family, for
any North American climate
• Design a micro-load mechanical system for residential applications
• Know how to predict accurate CO2 related emissions
• Know major differences of retrofit and non-residential Passive House
buildings compared to residential designs
• Design a small school Passive House building for any North American
climate
• Design a micro-load mechanical system for a small non-residential
project
• Understand how to assist the building professional to assure quality
through bidding and construction
• Understand cost trade-offs and incentives
• Understand how to calculate the return on investment and cost
effectiveness of a project
• Understand the PHIUS+ Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Certification process and where it interfaces with a RESNET professional
for on-site quality assurance and testing
Instructional Goals in more detail:
• Understanding Passive House buildings exceptional thermal comfort in

summer and winter
• Why to build airtight and thermal-bridge free
• The window as an essential Passive House building component
• Necessity of the balanced ventilation system with highly efficient heat
recovery
• Superior indoor air quality
• Minimized mechanical systems for space conditioning and domestic hot
water
• Integral planning processes, quality assurance and Passive House
building planning tools
• Built examples - construction experiences
• Overview and Introduction to the methodology of energy modeling
software and energy balancing
• Definition of energy specific reference areas, conditioned floor area,
envelope and volume calculations and differences in regards to those
definitions for various software applications
• Heat losses through opaque building components, windows, doors and
thermal bridges
• Solar heat gains and influence of shading elements
• Temporary shading devices for the summer case
• Sizing of the ventilation system
• Certification requirements for the mechanical system
• Calculation of the annual heating demand
• Calculation of the heat load/cooling load in a Passive House building
• Domestic hot water demand and solar thermal systems
• Verification of the source (primary) energy demand for space
conditioning, DHW, household electricity, and determining the CO2
related emissions
• Specific requirements for the thermal envelope: U-values, thermalbridge
free detailing, air-tightness, surface temperatures, humidity,
thermal storage capacity, comfort criteria
• Construction examples for wood frame construction, masonry buildings
and mixed construction techniques
• Methodology of thermal-bridge calculation and ability to use 2-
dimensional heat flow modeling software
• Influence of the opaque building assemblies on comfort and space
conditioning
• Requirements opaque building assemblies: U-values and surface
temperatures
• Requirements for transparent building assemblies in regards to frames,
glazing, glazing spacer, U-values and surface temperatures

• Installation thermal bridge effect and recommended installation details
• Certificates and accurate performance data verification
• Influence of the transparent building assemblies on summer comfort:
shading systems
• Earth tubes, ground loop heat exchangers
• Heating and domestic hot water in a passive building: Solar thermal
systems
• Heating options: Heat pumps, bio-mass, fossil fuels
• Compact heat pump systems for ventilation, heating, cooling and DHW
• Cooling options
• Electricity consumption: auxiliary and household
• Quality assurance procedures during installation
• Diagnostic tools: infrared and blower door
• Required protocol for blower door testing and mechanical systems
commissioning for certification
• Introduction to passive buildings strategies/examples for non-residential
buildings
• Passive House building criteria for non-residential buildings
• Ventilation for commercial buildings: layout of air flow volume, times of
operation, zoning, fire protection and acoustical issues
• Use of multiple ventilation systems in one building
• Electrical efficiency: day lighting, energy efficient lighting concepts,
office applications
• Internal heat gains / loads
• Cooling loads
• Energy efficiency grants/tax credits and economic feasibility
• Introduction to the retrofit passive building approach
• Retrofit insulation approaches and the challenge of interior insulation
• Opportunities and limits in regards to thermal bridge elimination
strategies
• Strategies to achieve excellent air-tightness in retrofit applications
• Passive House windows in retrofit applications
• Various solutions for ventilation system retrofits
• Construction examples
• Quality control measures and contractor training
• Examples of cost break out and annuity method: necessity of
generating a code home cost base line
• Integrated planning & design: cost trade-offs

COST FOR ONE 5 OR 4-DAY COURSE
Passive House Alliance Members: $975 | Non-Members: $1050
COST FOR 9-DAY COURSE
Passive House Alliance Members: $1950 | Non-Members: $2100
Includes lunch and mid-session refreshments. Attendees will be responsible for their own overnight
accommodation.
Participants will need to bring a laptop, purchase a copy of the PHPP 2007 software/handbook
(available from Passivhaus Institut Distributors) and have to have basic Excel knowledge. The other
software tools are being discussed (Wufi and THERM) and are available as free trial versions for the use
in class. Please download prior to class. Please also note technology requirements for MAC users as
published on the PHIUS website.
COST FOR FINAL EXAM
$250
Passive House Alliance Members receive a $25 discount: $225
Book online at: www.passivehouse.us