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Passivhaus, Part 3: So You Want to Be a Passivhaus Consultant?

We invite Jesse to chat with us about his journey along the path to becoming a Passivhaus consultant

Posted on Apr 25 2011 by Christopher Briley

To be a passivhaus consultant takes some training.

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Normally, Jesse Thompson visits us for our recurring segment "What's Bothering Jesse." But this time he joins us for a very specific purpose. You see, he's becoming an official Passivhaus consultant. He has completed his training, and now only a test stands between him and what we can only assume is a fancy piece of paper that declares him to be one of the few, the proud, and the energy conscious, the Passivhaus consultants.

So if you, like me, are thinking about becoming a member of this elite establishment, you may want to fix a cocktail and listen in on our conversation about what will be expected of you.

In Part 3 of this episode, we discuss:

  • How much it costs to be a consultant. Rather, we try to discuss this, but since we forget, I looked it up. It'll set you back $2,100 for the full nine-day training ($1,050 per phase), $150 for the PHPP software (enrolled students receive a $75 discount off the standard price of $225), and $250 for the certification exam.
  • What are you learning during the training?
  • THERM.
  • Who attends these training sessions? Who wants to learn this stuff?
  • Okay, the project is done, so what do you submit? How does the project become certified?
  • Phil's skepticism with the Passivhaus movement.
  • History of the Passivhaus movement.

    • Phil and I would love to hear from you. If you have a great idea for an upcoming topic, want to leave general feedback, or want to share your favorite cocktail recipe, you can e-mail us at GALounge@greenbuildingadvisor.com. If you'd like to complain about our tangential ramblings, fragment sentences, or our general irreverence, you can email us at Complaints@StraightToTheTrashBin.com.

    We conclude this episode with a Hot Zigg from Phil regarding some "net zeroProducing as much energy on an annual basis as one consumes on site, usually with renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics or small-scale wind turbines. Calculating net-zero energy can be difficult, particularly in grid-tied renewable energy systems, because of transmission losses in power lines and other considerations. zoning" in Boulder, Colo. Then I share my Six-Digit Idea, the reverse heat pumpHeating and cooling system in which specialized refrigerant fluid in a sealed system is alternately evaporated and condensed, changing its state from liquid to vapor by altering its pressure; this phase change allows heat to be transferred into or out of the house. See air-source heat pump and ground-source heat pump.. This must exist out there, somewhere. (If you are an engineer working on such a concept, I'd love to hear from you.) Finally, Phil takes us out with a song called "Time Fading Lines" from ANOTHER Brooklyn band, Woods.

    Thanks for tuning in. Cheers!


    1
    Comments
    1.
    Wed, 04/27/2011 - 19:24

    Phil's skepticism
    by Brian O' Hanlon

    Helpful? 0

    I'm looking forward to that. Wohoo!

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