[Greenbuilding] Nov. 4-7 Passive House Conference

[Leslie Moyer]

  5th Annual North American Passive House Conference
Reshaping the Built Environment
November 4-7
Portland, OR
http://www.formwerksstudios.com/phius/TramEntry.swf
info at passivehouse.us
217-344-1294
Passive House Institute US

With energy efficiency, health, comfort, affordability and climate 
change emerging as watchwords in the new construction economy, building 
professionals around the US and Canada are gravitating to the Passive 
House Standard. Moving beyond “guess-timation” and prescriptive rules of 
thumb, appreciating the rigorous and clearly defined energy metric, many 
are pursuing study and implementation of the science of Passive House 
construction. They’re learning its building science and technical 
specifics, applying its innovations, calculating its energy balances, 
analyzing its economics, designing and implementing its solutions. At 
the end of 2008, there were 15 Certified Passive House Consultants in 
the US; by the end of 2010 there will be over 300. Projects have been 
completed in a variety of climate zones around the continent, and the 
community of Passive House professionals, instructors, students, 
manufacturers and homeowners is beginning to flourish and develop 
traction. This November 5-7, our 5th Annual North American Passive House 
Conference will be held at the Portland Hilton in the terrific city of 
Portland, OR.

We’re thrilled to be in Portland for this year’s conference. It’s the 
first time the conference has ventured so far from the Midwest. As we 
began the Consultants’ Training Programs a couple of years ago, we very 
quickly saw a great deal of interest developing in a number of hotspot 
areas around the country. The Northwest was one of the foremost amongst 
those, and subsequent PH development there has been rapid and 
enthusiastic. Like seed crystals, built projects of high quality are 
attracting well-deserved attention and encouraging broader 
implementation of this coherent system of design and construction. We’ll 
see a number of those projects, both in presentation and on tour, and 
learn from the experiences of their planners, builders and residents.

There are a lot of people who’ve agreed to join us in Portland to share 
integral contributions drawn from their longstanding experience and 
often hard-won expertise. A few notable luminaries: Wolfgang Feist is 
the founder and director of the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, 
Germany. Amory Lovins is…well, he’s Amory Lovins, and he’s the 
co-founder, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain 
Institute. Both are physicists who have been crucial to the development 
and advancement of building energy science. Period. Jens Laustsen is 
Senior Policy Analyst, specializing in building energy, for the 
International Energy Agency. Robert Hastings is an architect and energy 
consultant who has led a host of international programs studying 
sustainable buildings.

Not to detract from the balance of the event - PH Consultants and other 
longtime high-performance building professionals from across North 
America are designing and building a wide array of outstanding projects 
in an increasingly diverse range of climates and challenges. Their 
experiences, impressions, problems and solutions will also be crucial, 
as we develop our command of Passive House principals and our abilities 
to apply them here.

We’ll be offering participants a variety of quality sessions for a 
variety of interests, from newcomers to building professionals to energy 
policymakers. Check the titles. We are offering a few pre-conference 
opportunities as well. For those who have completed the PH Consultants 
Training Program, we’ll hold the certifying exam on the afternoon of 
Wednesday, November 3rd. For Consultants and Consultants-in-Training 
looking to continue their development, there will be three workshops, 
each conducted by very talented PH professionals from the US and abroad.

Of course, the conference will hold an exhibit of Passive 
House-relevant, high-performance materials and products. Also, 
optionally available to participants, will be a Friday evening dinner 
and a Sunday tour of projects built in the Portland area.

For more information:
http://www.formwerksstudios.com/phius/TramEntry.swf