Passive House Design

Passive House Design

Tuition: $795. Rolling admission.

Passive House is justifiably regarded to be the most energy efficient building standard in the world, as well as the most challenging to meet.

Spend seven weeks with Mike Duclos, Principal and Founder of Energy Efficiency Associates and DEAP Energy Group, learning how to meet the rigorous (and non-negotiable) Passive House design criteria and make Passive House happen in the real world.

During Passive House Design you will learn:

  • How to design a home that meets Passive House Space Heating and Primary Energy requirements. You will actually do this as your Capstone Project.
  • Products & Strategies for designing a passive house in the real world: thermal bridging, above-grade walls, windows and doors, roofs, mechanical systems, and more.
  • Building Science issues encountered in Passive House design and construction that you may not run into in conventional design and construction.
  • Solutions for very low energy home designs using a variety of calculators for feedback in exploring different aspects of the design space.

This course moves beyond theory into the realm of practical application and hands-on learning. At the end of the course, Mike challenges you to design a home using a simplified adaptation of the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) to meet the most challenging design criteria: Passive House Space Heating and Primary Energy requirements.

Mike Duclos takes a hands-on approach to teaching, and is committed to providing the tools required to help design Passive House in the real world. The material and exercises will challenge you theoretically and practically, but Mike will be there every step of the way to provide insights and direction through the course discussion board. Familiarity with spreadsheets is a prerequisite, and students must have access to the current version of the PHPP.

Students should be comfortable using Excel spreadsheets because it is an important part of the coursework.

Instructor: 

Michael Duclos