Passive House Standard: A Strategic Mean for Building Affordable Sustainable Housing in Nova Scotia

2018 ◽  
pp. 347-378
Author(s):  
Ramzi Kawar
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Passive House ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
House Standard

FC 135A STEP TOWARD GREEN NEPHROLOGY: APPLYING THE PASSIVE HOUSE CONCEPT TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF DIALYSIS FACILITIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Mariat ◽  
Jocelyne Rey ◽  
Annie Olivier ◽  
Perrine Jullien
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Passive House ◽  
Pump System ◽  
Dialysis Facility ◽  
Dialysis Facilities ◽  
House Standard

Abstract Background and Aims The environmental impact of dialysis is now being largely recognized. It requires from the nephrology community to actively explore novel environmentally responsible health-care practices. Among them, conception of energy-efficient facilities may be an important prerequisite for improving the environmental impact of dialysis. The Passive House concept is an internationally recognised, performance-based energy standard in construction which so far has been rarely applied to medical facilities and never to dialysis centres. We report our experience with the first passive-house certified dialysis facility in Europe. Method The Passive House concept is a sustainable construction standard for nearly zero energy buildings (the Resolution of the European Parliament of 31/01/2008 has called for its implementation by all member states by 2021). Principles and design tools of the Passive House concept are freely available for all architects. The concept combines a particularly high level of insulation with a specific system of ventilation. Geothermal energy and energy from inside the building such as the body heat from the residents or solar heat entering the building are the main energy sources. Passive House buildings allow for heating and cooling related energy savings of up to 90% compared with typical building stock and over 75% compared with average new buildings. Results The François Berthoux Center (www.artic42.fr) is a 4 400 m2 dialysis facility operated by 40 health care agents and providing care to 135 patients. It was designed following the Passive-House standard, applied for the first time to such a medical building. Several adjustments specific to the dialysis activity were necessary. The most unexpected aspect was the importance of hemodialysis machines as an energy source. Thorough thermal evaluation showed that the heat provided by different type of hemodialysis machines was systematically superior to the energy mandatory during the coldest day of the year (>10 W/m2). In practice, the center turned out to be fully operational with no external source of heating. The downside was that the geothermal pump system was not sufficient to fully regulate temperatures during the warmest period of the year. Optimal cooling was achieved by the addition of conventional AC systems in the hemodialysis rooms. Overall, as compared to a similar center, energy savings provided by the The François Berthoux Center were substantially less than what is expected from a conventional Passive House building but were over 50%. The extra-cost of the construction was estimated to 3 to 5%. Conclusion In conclusion, the concept of eco-friendly building should extend to dialysis facilities. Application of the Passive House Standard in the context of hemodialysis requires to take into account some specificities that can impact the global environmental performance of the building. However, the net result is clearly in favor of such a construction, which is both affordable and sustainable.

scholarly journals A Comparison Of Building Envelope Performance Levels Between Ontario, Denmark, Germany And The Passive House Standard, In The Low-Rise, Residential Context

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine Attwood
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Passive House ◽  
Building Envelopes ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Greater Toronto Area ◽  
Residential Context ◽  
Minimum Requirements ◽  
Other World ◽  
House Standard

This research compared and analyzed where the Ontario Building Code rates in the low-rise, residential sector in terms of its: in comparison to Denmark, Germany and the Passive House Standard. This was analyzed to see how Ontario compared against other world renowned energy efficient regulations and where or if there was room for improvement. For this, HOT2000 and THERM were utilized on all four of the reference standards, where both of these programs were managed in a way to compare the results of ‘typical’ building envelopes and the current regulation from each of the standards. These results were then able to provide a whole home’s heating and air conditioning energy use in the Greater Toronto Area climate. Overall, the results illustrated Ontario homes consume the most energy for both typically constructed homes and homes utilizing the minimum requirements. In addition to this, Ontario also had the least performing building envelope connection details. In total, the Passive House performed at the highest level followed by Germany, Denmark and then Ontario.

scholarly journals Investigation of the life cycle carbon impact of passive house building envelopes in Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick W. Andres
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Passive House ◽  
Standard Life ◽  
System Configurations ◽  
House Building ◽  
House Standard

Whole building energy and life cycle impact modeling was conducted for a single-family detached reference building designed to meet the Passive House Standard. Life cycle operating global warming potential (GWP) and building envelope embodied GWP were assessed for two mechanical system configurations and three Canadian cities. Variations in regional electricity carbon intensity were found to significantly impact both operating and embodied GWP. Embodied GWP was found to be significant relative to operating GWP in locations with access to low carbon electricity. Additionally, use of natural gas mechanical systems in Edmonton resulted in 360% greater operating emissions than in Montreal, while electric heat pump mechanicals yielded 6,600% higher emissions. Finally, the Passive House Standard method for quantifying operating GWP was found to overestimate emissions by up to 3700% in Montreal and underestimate emissions by 34% in Edmonton, when compared to a method accounting for variations in regional electricity carbon intensity.

Positive Energy Homes

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Brimblecombe ◽  
Kara Rosemeier
Keyword(s):  
Positive Energy ◽  
Passive House ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Effective Ventilation ◽  
Technical Details ◽  
Ventilation Strategies ◽  
Daylight Harvesting ◽  
House Standard ◽  
Attention To Detail

Positive energy homes enable people to live healthy and comfortable lives with energy left over to share. Creating a house you love that produces surplus energy is surprisingly easy with a thorough understanding of how buildings work and careful attention to detail in construction. The Passive House standard, with its well-proven track record, forms the basis for creating positive energy homes. This book explores the Passive House ‘fabric first’ approach, as well as the science and practicalities of effective ventilation strategies, smart options for heating and cooling, daylight harvesting, and efficient lighting and appliances. Positive Energy Homes provides home owners world-wide, architects and builders with an understanding of the principles and technical details of building these houses.

scholarly journals Предизвикателства при проектиране, изграждане и експлоатация на пасивна сграда в България

2020 ◽  
pp. 61-76
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Passive House ◽  
Know How ◽  
Building Systems ◽  
Efficient Construction ◽  
House Standard ◽  
Design Construction

Challenges to the Design, Construction and Exploitation of a Passive Building in Bulgaria The construction of buildings that have to achieve the idea of a sustainable and energy-efficient construction sector requires a study of passive buildings. Specific requirements for the design, construction and exploitation of a passive building leading to limited flexibility in terms of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, renewable energy, modern know-how, the introduction of highly efficient building systems, the lack of experience of Bulgarian producers present the relevance of the topic and justify a more detailed study. The aim of the article is to analyze the challenges in the design, construction and exploitation of the passive building in Bulgaria and on this basis draw generalized conclusions and make recommendations for improving the implementation of projects according to the Passive House Standard. The content of the article is structured as follows: 1) Literature review of technological features in the design, construction and exploitation of a Passive House; 2) Methodological framework of the study; 3) Assessment of the challenges in the design, construction and exploitation of a passive building in Bulgaria; 4) Summary of the results and recommendations. The last part of the article summarizes and recommends the challenges of implementing this type of projects related to the characteristics of the construction’s technologies and conditions for exploitations.

scholarly journals Are the energy savings of the passive house standard reliable? A review of the as-built thermal and space heating performance of passive house dwellings from 1990 to 2018

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1605-1631
Author(s):  
David Johnston ◽  
Mark Siddall ◽  
Oliver Ottinger ◽  
Soeren Peper ◽  
Wolfgang Feist
Keyword(s):  
Energy Savings ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Passive House ◽  
Heating Performance ◽  
House Standard

scholarly journals An Investigation into Indoor Radon Concentrations in Certified Passive House Homes

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 4149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Mc Carron ◽  
Xianhai Meng ◽  
Shane Colclough
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Radon ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Passive House ◽  
Gas Detectors ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
House Standard ◽  
Radon Concentrations

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has introduced the concept of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) specifying that by 31 December 2020 all new buildings must meet the nearly zero- energy standard, the Passive House standard has emerged as a key enabler for the Nearly Zero Energy Building standard. The combination of Passive House with renewables represents a suitable solution to move to low/zero carbon. The hypothesis in this study is that a certified passive house building with high levels of airtightness with a balanced mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) should yield lower indoor radon concentrations. This article presents results and analysis of measured radon levels in a total of 97 certified passive house dwellings using CR-393 alpha track diffusion radon gas detectors. The results support the hypothesis that certified passive house buildings present lower radon levels. A striking observation to emerge from the data shows a difference in radon distribution between upstairs and downstairs when compared against regular housing. The study is a first for Ireland and the United Kingdom and it has relevance to a much wider context with the significant growth of the passive house standard globally.

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