I took the Passive House Consultant course a couple years ago because Eco Brooklyn was becoming a Passive House builder in NYC and I wanted to know the information. I didn’t take the exam to get certified since being a Passive House Consultant wasn’t the kind of work I enjoyed. I like building Passive Houses but the super technical calculations are tedious to me.
That is why I was very excited to take the Passive House Tradesperson course offered last month in the Bronx. We studied the practical things involved in building a Passive House – air sealing techniques, insulation strategies etc. This is great stuff for me so I did take the exam to become certified.
A nice spreadsheet with numbers is very necessary but if you don’t have a Passive House contractor to implement the numbers you don’t have a Passive House. And with so many of our New York green renovations, it may be impossible to actually reach Passive House standards due to budget, Landmarks restrictions or a million other reasons.
But a good Passive House builder can still get damn close nonetheless. Passive House building techniques are simply smart building that can be applied to any renovation.
Also, New York brownstones are all very similar. Once you get the formula it is something you can just repeat with each new job and you are 90% there, giving you a lot more time to focus on the 10% that is different from job to job.
I am happy to be a Certified Passive House Tradesperson because that is where my passion and skill lies.