Last week, GPTF members Terry Joshi, Rob Hothan and Nortrud Spero attended a presentation in Brooklyn on Passive House design in an effort to further educate themselves on sustainable building as the Yonkers City Council readies to address proposed sustainability legislation. Yonkers Architect Steven Asaro and Yonkers property owner Brian Breyre also attended the case study/lecture of Passive House BKLYN, of a renovated historic landmark single family townhouse in Park Slope.
The Passive House (or Passivehaus) system simply uses five basic principles of energy conservation, through which some of the most energy efficient building standards in the world are achieved. They are:
1. Thermal insulation
2. Air tightness
3. Thermal bridge free design
4. Ventilation systems with heat recovery
5. Passivehaus windows (generally triple paned)
Rob Hothan is working toward his master's degree on Passive House in Austria and has his professional certification as a Passive House consultant. Lucky for us, he brings it to the home front here in Yonkers as the GPTF's newest member. "It's simple and generally costs the same as standard construction because the balance of costs is shifted from one area of construction to another: more money is spent on inexpensive insulation materials than on expensive heating and cooling systems," says Rob.
Europe has more than 20,000 buildings that meet this standard, and some countries are now requiring it for all new projects. The USA has fewer than 100, according to the industry. "This design standard should be precisely that 'standard' if we want to achieve future energy savings right here in Yonkers," says Rob.
For a more detailed explanation, click here.
