Passive House Design
Passive House is for all Buildings
We will work with you and your team on thermal bridge evaluation, building form factor, thermal envelope design, air barriers, water control layers, building orientation, windows, shading, ventilation, hot water systems and space heating and cooling. An energy model will provide guidance and evaluate options throughout the decision making process.
​
Our role is to provide information for you to make informed and enlightened decisions to build better buildings.
Embodied Carbon Analysis
Emissions from materials and the construction of the building
Embodied Carbon is the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere during the manufacturing of the material used to construct the building. Embodied carbon can be considered as upfront carbon emissions. This initial amount of carbon can be significant and must be considered in the material selection phase of planning. Even high performance low operating carbon buildings can take years or decades to offset the carbon released making the building. In some instances it may never offset the original emissions.
The first step to analyze embodied carbon is a material selection process. This is a high level look at material properties and selection of function and alternatives for building assemblies. Second step is a product analysis to select specific products in each chosen material category.
Operational Carbon Analysis
Emissions from operations of the building
The amount of energy it takes to heat your building is directly proportional to the energy efficiency of the Passive House Design. The better the building the less energy it needs. The type and source of the energy will effect the amount of carbon emissions that the building emits.
​
We look at the source energy carbon emissions and the modelled energy demand of the building to determine your operational carbon emissions and present options to reduce those emissions through conservation, generation and or storage.
International Energy Agency (iea)
Energy and Carbon Consulting
Energy and Carbon go hand in hand but have very complex relationships that vary significantly. Reducing energy does not always result in lower carbon emissions. In some situations, reducing energy can increases carbon emissions. A total system view is needed to evaluate the compounding effects.
​
We analyze carbon emissions from the building level to city level and provide a breakdown of the emissions.
We analyze energy sources like solar, wind, and nuclear for their carbon impact as well as electrical, thermal and chemical storage. Energy production is one of the largest sources of green house gas emissions so knowing how and when your power is produced is key to reducing emissions.