Reflecting on the 26th International Passivhaus Conference March 2023
Left to right : Kate Nason (Australian Passivhaus Association), Zack Semke (Passive House Accelerator) and Miriam Wichmann (Passivhaus Austria)
By Kate Nason, APA Chair
An opportunity to exchange knowledge, reconnect and reset
As the title of this blog post suggests, the past week has been one of reconnecting with like minded professionals, reflecting on the past three years, sharing knowledge and resetting collective goals.
Although the Passivhaus standard is just one part of the puzzle to decarbonise our buildings, it offers an approach to design and construction that is accessible to everyone in the value chain of a building, regardless of context, location and climate. It provides the foundation for any serious effort to achieve net-zero carbon as the operational energy requirements over the life of building can far outpace the upfront carbon if not addressed appropriately. The last International Passivhaus Conference to be held in person was in 2019, so it was long over due to connect with those who are actively implementing the Passivhaus standard around the world and share learnings with one another.
I feel extremely privileged to have been invited to participate in the Conference Advisory Committee this year, and not only attend the conference Wiesbaden Germany, but also chair one of the sessions.
Exchanging Knowledge
There was a strong focus on summer comfort and technical solutions to building in hot climates - A direct result of the sweltering summers that have been felt around the world recently. This has brought the relevance of the Passivhaus standard closer to home for us in Australia, helping to break down the perception that it is less suited to warm climates.
I was invited to chair Session 15 which was centred on this topic - Passivhaus buildings in hot climates. Presentations primarily featured completed new and retrofitted projects with extensive operational data available. Amongst many interesting takeaways from the 6 presentations in this session, it was fascinating to hear how projects have been performing against predictions across Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Greece. In some cases, these were large-scale, social housing projects with complex stakeholder groups, financial constraints and political contexts. Spoiler alert - they are all performing as well if not better than anticipated. Occupant feedback confirms the improvement in experience and quality of life with vast increases in comfort levels and large savings on annual house hold bills being a reoccurring theme.
Georgios Dementzis presented a 6 year study of an EnerPhit house (Passivhaus retrofit standard) which revealed that CO2 levels did not exceed 1000ppm for 90% of the year, with a maximum of 1300ppm ever recorded. Noting that outdoor CO2 levels are approximately 400ppm and anything under 2000ppm deemed 'excellent' indoor air quality, this result really proves that continuous Mechanical Ventilation with Heat recovery offers a robust and reliable ventilation strategy to support well-being. The study also showed that temperatures never fell below 20 degrees Celsius and very rarely reached 27 degrees Celsius without active cooling. Considering this project is located in Athens, where temperatures regularly exceed 40 in summer, this is an excellent result. In addition, the project was also net-positive energy as it could produce more renewable energy than it consumed with just a small 3.5kWp of PV (14 panels). On average the house generated about 25-30% more energy each year than it needed.
Pedro Rayna presented a stunning timber project in Buenos Aires which could withstand the annual flooding of the Parana Mini River. It is an example of how renewable and locally available materials can be utilised, drawing on existing skills in the industry to realise a highly bioclimatic resilient passivhaus project in a hot humid environment.
Salvador Rodrigues-Kuri and Albert Beele presented a social housing retrofit study of 30 homes in Mexico, where reaching the EnerPhit standard could prove cost-neutral with some careful consideration.
This is just a small taste of one of the 16 sessions and more detail on all the presentations will be posted here shortly.
Reconnecting
It was clear by the breadth of nationalities attendees and speakers represented at the Conference, that global momentum is growing at an exponential rate. With new affiliates spearheading localised support in areas such Latin America, new sets of opportunities and challenges can be explored with the international network. The conference is a great platform to do this, enabling us to create genuine connections, build collaborative relationships and foster a supportive culture across borders. It is a truly inclusive community, eager to welcome anyone who shares the values of improving the built environment. Barry McCannon, fellow Chair of the Irish Passivhaus Association, reiterated this, explaining that the Passivhaus community is
" ..a community for life, one that you can be a part of regardless of your location, number of events attended or level of experience".
I met some truly inspiring people after what feels like an age of 2D zoom calls. A few worth mentioning include Dylan Ingui - the youngest person to become a certified Passivhaus designer at the age of 16, proving that age simply should not be a measure of capability and ability to influence change. It was also great to reconnect with other affiliate organisations, the Passive House Accelerator crew, certifiers from around the world as well as some fellow Aussies who had made the journey too. It was great to connect with Melbourne based architect, Andrew Burns, who presented his new tool PH Live Sync which enables a two-way workflow between Revit and PHPP, fundamentally speeding up the design process and measuring performance more seamlessly.
The Passive House Accelerator launched an excellent video of interviews with all exhibitors. This can be viewed here.
Resetting
The opening plenary set the tone for how we, as a collective industry, must move forward. Along with prof. Wolfgang Feist, founder of PHI, Nora Steurer from the United Nations Environment Program was one of the keynote speakers. She highlighted that the rate of decarbonisation in the building sector is not adequate currently if we want to reach our global Net Zero by 2050 goal.
At a minimum, we must ensure every new building is net zero energy in operation. That includes a high-performance envelope, energy-efficient services and renewable power generation to cover the remaining demand.
The next step is to reduce as much embodied carbon as possible. Lastly, we should only lean on offsets where embodied emissions are absolutely unavoidable.
This approach was captured in the global 'Efficiency First' campaign over the past year and remained a dominant theme at this year's conference too.
With support from the City of Hessen, the Passivhaus Institute (Phi) has launched a DIY program for building owners to guide informed decision-making about energy efficiency upgrades in the wake of the energy crisis in Europe triggered by the war in Ukraine. Despite a few nuances in construction methods and climate, this guidance is applicable to the Australian context too.
These collaborative efforts between Not For Profit organisations, government and the private sector have been a real source of inspiration. Emma Osmundsen, the former director of Exeter City Living, noted that sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to influence change. Physically talking key decision makers to a project can inspire them through experience. While she worked on behalf of Exeter city council, she delivered the world’s first passivhaus leisure centre and launched a policy for all public housing to meet the passivhaus standard in their jurisdiction. This was all in response to the climate crisis, fuel poverty, and social welfare needs. Find what resonates with stakeholders and "go where they care".
With the South Pacific Passivhaus Conference coming up in May this year, it is the perfect opportunity to reset the ambition in our part of the world. I encourage you to identify someone influential in your networks and bring them along. There is a huge amount of inspiring work to see and share across Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. I look forward to how we can spark some rapid momentum toward the net zero carbon global goal now that we can convene in person again.
Lastly, I want to say a BIG thank you to the Passivhaus Institut and the International Passive House Association for hosting me at the conference. This blog is only the tip of the iceberg of what has been an incredibly inspiring few days!
