The Certified Passive House Designer Training is the premier training program for Passive House building professionals working on residential, institutional, and commercial projects. This course dives into what makes Passive House buildings tick and builds a foundation of knowledge and skill to integrate Passive House building design standards into any building project. This course is specifically designed to teach the international Passive House Standard (PHI) to American professionals in the U.S. construction industry using IP units, and is required prior to taking the CPHD professional certification exam.
In this course, you’ll explore the Passive House principles and how they relate to, and build off of, each other. Learn about the performance-based standards that make Passive House buildings better than standard building codes because they work in all climates around the world, can be applied to any construction types, and allow flexibility in approaches.
The Passive House Network (PHN) is offering this in-person Certified Passive House Designer course specifically for Massachusetts professionals but others are welcome to attend.
The course spans 5 days in Newton, Massachusetts at the Studio for High-Performance Design & Construction, Newton, MA.
Note: All In-Person courses are subject to local COVID regulations AND require participants to be vaccinated. Please be prepared to show your vaccination documentation.
The class location may change due to COVID or other issues. If so, the class will be held Live-Online.
Background photo by Artur Łuczka on Unsplash
The Passive House Network (PHN), formerly known as NAPHN, is a high-performance building literacy program. We provide comprehensive, high-quality Passive House education to stakeholders across the building industry – from architects and engineers, to builders and developers, to regulators and policymakers. We demystify the impact of design and construction choices, form knowledge-sharing networks, raise expectations, and transform how professionals fundamentally think and work.
Passive House is widely recognized as the most powerful tool we have today to produce buildings that rise to meet our challenges, forming the cornerstone of climate mitigation and adaptation, public health, and equity impacts. Read The PHN Difference, for a description of what makes us uniquely positioned in the US building industry.
Our Vision: A sustainable, post-carbon, all-renewable energy future – supported by buildings that are efficient, comfortable, affordable, resilient, and healthy.
Our Mission: The transformation of the built environment, using the tools developed by the Passive House Institute, is a critical effort to combat global warming. We provide training, conferences, and other events to both engage and educate design and building professionals, policymakers, and the general public. We support the success and vitality of the Passive House community.
Funding: The Express Program from the Commonwealth’s Workforce Training Fund Program (WTFP) is designed to help businesses of all sizes respond quickly to emerging needs and keep employees engaged. With bite-size grants for just-in-time training and no waiting periods between grants, the Express Program is the Workforce Training Fund’s fastest path to funding.
You could take this training for FREE. Learn more and get in contact.
Please note that you must submit for course approval a minimum of 21 days out from the registration / training start date.
Course ID# 1135246
35 AIA LU|HSW Credits Available
The Passive House Network is an AIA Continuing Education Provider.
Participants will need to provide their own laptop with internet capabilities. Participants will receive a license for the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) as part of their registration. The PHPP is the energy modeling software used in certifying Passive House projects.
Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) requires Microsoft Excel 2007 or higher and Windows XP or higher.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
Outline the basic building science principles of the Passive House Standard
Determine strategies for implementing the principles in both design and construction phases
Describe the role of Passive House energy model and its relationship to component selection, detailing, and execution.
Explain basic energy calculations based on typical building assemblies
Take the CPHD exam for PHI certification
Digital Course Materials
Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) software (individual license) and physical manual (Requires Microsoft Excel 2007 or higher)
Exam preparation materials, activities, a supplemental preparations course
Certificate of completion and AIA credits
The 5-day training includes 35-hours of instruction developed by subject matter experts working in Passive House in the United States with additional expertise from international partners. Our certified trainers provide the instruction pulling from personal experience with Passive House throughout the course. Supplemental resources and materials are included.
The exam preparations provide additional insights into PHI’s CPHD exam, including practice design assignment and instructor-led review. Exam preparations start 4-6 weeks prior to the exam.
The CPHD exam is a 3.5 hour online proctored exam. To receive a certification participants need a 50% or better. There are a total of 140 points on the exam and partial points are awarded. The online exam includes a design problem.
The exam has two rounds of grading with a final grade awarded by Passive House Institute, the international certifier of Passive House.
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.