Passive House and All-Electric Homes Learning Center

The Sponsors of Mass Save® invite you to join us for the second workshop in the All-Electric Homes Webinar Series, "The Case for Electrification, Part 2". This webinar will feature an in-depth panel discussion of a unique all-electric home in Newton, Massachusetts. The recently launched Mass Save All-Electric Home incentive is designed for single-family and 2- to 4-unit homes that utilize high-performance construction and feature all-electric appliances for heating, cooling, water heating, and cooking.    As part of the launch of this new and exciting offer, this webinar series features deep dives into the experiences of builders, architects, and engineers who work to design and construct real-world, all-electric homes—as well as the perspectives of the HERS raters involved in these projects. Throughout the series, our experts will discuss specific projects and present key details and lessons learned. Key features of the Newton All-Electric Home include: •    Projected HERS Index Score of 45 •    Deep Energy Retrofit project •    Continuous insulation and advanced air sealing    Featured Panelists: Builder: Nick Falkoff, Auburndale Builders  Architect: Richard Lo, Kaplan Thompson Architects HERS Rater: Mike Browne, Advanced Building Analysis   Read more

Continuous insulation is an effective way to insulate building enclosures in order to increase thermal performance, reduce condensation risk, and improve building durability. Attendees will learn about the importance of selection and application of continuous insulation materials. By the end of this module attendees will be able to: • Summarize the importance of continuous insulation • Identify challenging details seen on construction projects and propose solutions on how these can be overcome. • Describe the common approaches for continuous insulation installation on residential projects. Featuring: Scott Pusey, Principal Sustainability Consultant of Steven Winter Associates, Inc. Read more

Residential electrification in new construction, renovations and retrofits is a crucial step in the pathway towards widespread decarbonization, and with the recent advancement and increased availability of electric appliances now may be the best time to consider going all-electric. In this module we will explore the benefits of electrification, provide an overview of the considerations when going all-electric, discuss a variety of technology options and best practices for incorporating heat pumps for both domestic hot water and space heating. By the end of this module attendees will be able to: • Summarize the benefits of building electrification • Discuss the major considerations when electrifying residential homes • Understand how heat pump systems operate and where they can be applied • Describe the various options available for non-fossil fuel water heating. Featuring: Adam Romano, Principal Building Systems Consultant of Steven Winter Associates, Inc. Read more

The Sponsors of Mass Save® invite you to join the All-Electric Homes Kickoff Series: “The Case for Electrification” featuring the Acton All-Electric Home on Tuesday, April 19 at 3pm EST via GoToMeeting.  The recently launched All-Electric Home incentive is designed for single-family and 2-4 unit homes that achieve high-performance construction and utilize all-electric appliances for heating, cooling, water heating, and cooking. As part of the launch of this new and exciting offer, this event series will feature deep dives into the experiences of builders, architects, and engineers who worked to design and construct real-world all-electric homes – as well as the perspectives of the HERS raters involved in these projects.  On each webinar, our experts will discuss a specific project and present key details and lessons learned.  Key features of the Acton All-Electric home include:  -HERS index score of 26 (before PV) -Continuous insulation and advanced air sealing  -PHIUS+2018 - PHIUS+ Source Zero  Panelists:  Builders:        Dave Wittig and Laura Burnes, Adams+Beasley Associates  Engineer:      Jordan Goldman, ZeroEnergy Design  HERS Rater:  Mike Browne, Advanced Building Analysis  We hope you can join us for the first webinar in our 3-part series!  Read more

The Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) has introduced a new version of their standard with the goal of making it easier and more affordable for single-family residential homes to achieve Passive House certification. In this workshop, you will learn about this new Prescriptive Path and how it can simply the design and certification process for single-family homes and make certification available for a wider range of project teams, project sizes and project budgets. Additionally, Mass Save has introduced new financial incentives for 1-4 unit homes that achieve significant energy use reductions and make strides towards going all-electric. Together, these new programs will further fuel the growth of Passive House projects in the region and help new contractors, developers, and owners get involved.  This workshop will cover background context on the Passive House standard and origin of the Prescriptive Path checklist and then provide step by step instructions and case studies on how it's used in action. Audience questions and discussion included.  Intended for architects, developers, PH consultants, raters, and contractors of residential projects.  Read more

Designed for builders, contractors, project managers, subs, and trades, this session provides an overview of Passive House details, explores the construction challenges unique to Passive House builds, and shares lessons learned from recent projects. Featuring: Nat Coughlin, L.D. Russo - Presenting lessons learned from the Waring School in Beverly and the Hillsdale Center in Newburyport. Ed Sople, Dellbrook JKS - Presenting a case study of a multifamily project, the Loop at Mattapan Station. Aaron Gunderson, PHMass - Presenting on principles, features, and common construction details of Passive House projects. Read more