The founder of Passivhaus and director of Passivhaus Institute PHI, Dr. Wolfgang Fiest, has just sent word that the Passive House Institute United States (PHIUS) will no longer be able to provide building certifications, and will no longer be considered a partner of the program. — Inhabitat
8 Comments
This is fairly shocking! It's too bad. I love me some Passivhaus.
well, not that shocking... and there will still be passivhaus, just not certified by PHIUS
is this something the republicans did?
yu know, cuz certification is bad for the economy or something?
Can anyone breakdown what this fight is actually about? It sounds like someone wasn't happy with software licensing fees. I'd love to hear otherwise.
This is basically about SI vs. IMPERIAL. We Americans unfortunately are too stupid to adopt a rational system of weights and measures and the PHI is basically insisting that all work be done in SI units, which will make US adoption harder. Add in some strong personalities and a dose of misunderstanding of market conditions and this silly infighting is the result. Passivhaus in the US will continue under both PHI and PHIUS. PHIUS will concentrate on the US climate conditions and the US market and PHI will continue to work worldwide.
If what has been posted is true, then it is quite sad.
It's not just about SI vs. Imperial units. The Passivhaus Institute is highly regarded within the high-performance home industry, mainly because it's such a simple but rigorous standard... and 25,000 Passivhaus buildings in Europe don't lie. These things use about 10% of the energy of a regular house and when constructed properly, allow for great indoor comfort. There are many passivhaus enthusiasts in this country, myself among them. I think if it were just about the "software", the mothership wouldn't have detatched from PHIUS. One of the reasons cited in the separation is the "competing professional certification scheme", which is a partnership that PHIUS entered into with a group about a month ago to offer "Energy Performance Scores" on homes. The labeling of homes is a hot-button topic in the U.S. right now, and in my humble opinion, it doesn't serve the integrity of the Passivhaus standard to associate with a politically charged and unsettled labeling system.
Furthermore, they cited improper documentation, which is frankly a stupid thing to screw up, and considering how Passivhaus certification has just a few major prerequisites to adhere to in the first place. It is unfortunate, for sure, but in this instance I don't think it's the standard itself that's the problem.
children and adults its so hard to tell the difference. no wonder the planet is fucked.
I'm going to save the planet !
no I am !
NO I AM !
no I am !
NO it's me, you fuck off over to the corner
I'll show you the corner....
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