EAI and Passive House Collaborate On EPS
August 23rd, 2011 by EditorEarth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit green building resource, and the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) have announced their intent to work together on development of an Energy Performance Score (EPS) label that can be issued for any home certified to the Passive House building energy standard. The plan is part of an overall collaborative effort in the residential building sector that will also include education courses for professionals and consumers.
According to the announcement, the EPS is a miles-per-gallon-style rating system for homes that allows buyers to compare estimated annual energy costs and energy consumption among different homes. It also provides an incentive for homeowners to undertake energy upgrades.
“The massive energy savings offered by Passive House certification have attracted significant attention in the Northwest and in other parts of the country,” says Sean Penrith, executive director, Earth Advantage Institute. “With Earth Advantage Institute’s ability to reach the builder and homeowner communities, this agreement with PHIUS enables both parties to bring a much higher level of residential energy performance into the mainstream.”
“PHIUS is committed to making the Passive House building energy standard PH the prevalent, mainstream building energy standard for new construction and retrofits in the United States,” adds Katrin Klingenberg, co-founder of PHIUS. “The combination of PHIUS’ passive house technical expertise and Earth Advantage Institute’s Energy Performance Score experience can serve to move the market closer to broad-based energy efficiency.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Earth Advantage Institute and PHIUS have agreed to recognize each other as affiliates. The two organizations expect to provide each other with access to project criteria and building data and plan to jointly develop guidelines on accounting for carbon emissions within the program. Following contract finalization, Earth Advantage Institute also plans to host Certified Passive House Consultant training at its facilities in the Northwest.