The annual conference will take place this year in Arlington, Virginia, with two days of pre-conference programming on December 4 and 5, the core conference on December 6 and 7, and a tour of Passive House projects on December 8.

The conference brings together a variety of high-performance building professionals to focus on building science, construction detailing, mechanical systems, and case studies of a variety of building types, PHIUS said in announcement. Manufacturers will have their products on display in the Exhibition Hall, and winners of the annual PHIUS design competition will be announced.

Once aligned with the German-based Passive House Institute, PHIUS is an independent organization that has developed its own climate-specific building standard for the North American market. It emphasizes low energy use and tight building envelopes.

One focus of this year’s conference will be using the PHIUS+ standard to reach net zero performance profitably in all building types.

Jeremy Rifkin, author of The Third Industrial Revolution and The Green New Deal: Why the Fossil Fuel Civilization Will Collapse by 2028, and the Bold Economic Plan to Save Life on Earth, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at 9 a.m. on December 6. The rest of the core schedule is available here. Registration information is available here.

The design competition awards ceremony takes place on December 5. The juried competition is for fully certified Passive House projects of all types and in all climate zones. Submissions are due by November 8. Projects compete in five categories with an additional two awards given for best overall project and best project by a young professional. You’ll find details about the competition here.

-Scott Gibson is a contributing writer at Green Building Advisor and Fine Homebuilding magazine.