PBC April 2020 newsletter
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Pandemic Spaghetti Western:
a message from PBC President Kim Walton

Back in the day, when meetings took place in person only, I logged ridiculous kilometerage, and did a lot of car phone calling. In those days, slotting world class instruction between meetings in a single day would be rare.

This past month, my calendar has been ridiculously overbooked with meetings, live presentations and webinars. Extraordinary information and the unexpected pleasure of meeting people from all over the country while locked down! In the case of PH Accelerator's weekly meetups, I have been meeting like minded people from all over the world! My clients are suddenly more than willing to meet remotely and have swiftly become very tech savvy. Driving a vehicle seems to be an old fashioned concept. I am conflicted about this new way of learning and doing business. . . 

The Good

  • The quality of information and information sharing is a gold-en opportunity. Never before has this level of sharing been so easily accessible.
  • Fully loaded webinars and meetings lead to connecting with a cache of people around the world that share a passion for building better.
  • Loners can easily find a community of like minded PH enthusiasts with
  • No risk of exposure.
  • We are finding that it is very easy to band-it together

The Bad

  • The bounty of information can be overwhelming at times.
  • Lucky to be able to Profit from learning in the comfort of our homes.
  • Out-dollar activities are really taking a shot.

The Ugly

  • It is easy to be greedy. Three webinars in a day is probably excessive.
  • Rifling through ten tabs of webinars in waiting can be a showdown of work vs pleasure
  • It goes without saying, there is likely a whole head of ugly behind that unshared zoom participant box.

Until next time,

K

HIGH PERFORMANCE DESIGN MEETS BOOTS ON THE GROUND (UPDATE) 
Boots on the Ground March 2020

Like everyone we are hoping that in the fall we can have public gatherings. We have had to cancel Boots on the Ground in Edmonton in August but we still are hoping that we can host an event in Guelph in September and Toronto in October. If the BOG event does happen in October we are excited to be moving to a bigger space to better accommodate demand - Artscape Wychwood Barns!

As a reminder, we have plenty of videos (including BOG videos) on our Youtube channel (subscribe and get notified when new videos go up!). We have put together playlists to help folks find what they are looking for. 

STORIES THAT STRUCK OUR FANCY

Carbon Challengers: Peter Amerongen seeks path to net-zero renos

"Amerongen said he started building efficient homes in the 1970s when everyone was worried about oil running out. He got into net-zero homes in the 2000s when global heating became the big problem, and has more recently turned his eye to net-zero retrofits." [See also presentation by Peter Amerongen: Boots on the Ground: Retrofit Canada! Dammit, before it's too late!]


Building Science and the Prevention of COVID-19: How the right building envelopes could slow the spread of viral infections. 

"Passive House’s role in controlling the spread of viruses like COVID-19 rests in its required ventilation and filtration performance standards. While there are many ways to design ventilation to meet a variety of performance goals, ventilating with outdoor air is essential to controlling the spread of viruses and diluting airborne contaminants."
 

European engineers' recommendation: Stop recirculating air in buildings

"In Passive House designs, all the air supplied in ducts is hygiene ventilation, fresh air brought in from the outside. Any heating or cooling required is done separately. This now appears to be a really smart and prescient idea."


Toronto Community Housing embraces the Passive House

"The highly sustainable design features 21 townhouses on two sites that are part of the redevelopment of Alexandra Park in downtown Toronto. It will be the first city project of its kind since the introduction of a 'green standard' which sets the bar high for energy performance towards the goal of zero carbon emissions."
 

146 units of passive house social housing proposed for Vancouver development

This passive house project "is predicated on creation of affordable housing that is focused on livability, is warm and inviting, sensitive to the context, cost-effective to construct and maintain, and is highly energy efficient"


 
BUILD THE PASSIVE HOUSE MOVEMENT WITH YOUR PBC MEMBERSHIP
PBC was Canada's first national non-profit dedicated to promoting the high performance building standard of passive house. Over 10 year laters we continue to promote sustainable building through our education and networking events, a fantastic listserv, this newsletter and more. Thank you to all of our members who keep us going. Not a member? Please join today.
 
EVENTS, WORKSHOPS AND TRAININGS
PBC member events:
There are ongoing
online PH courses from Peel Passive House Consulting including Using DesignPH for Passive House Design and Certification; Using Design PH for Passive House Design; PHPP Variants, H3 Modeling; Ventilation in large PH buildings; PHPP Expert Exam Prep Course; PHPP Exam Prep - Design PH an PHPP Variants. 
 
Online and (future) in-person trainings and gatherings: 
Pembina Institute: Reframed lab: Join the retrofit evolution
Passive House Accelerator: Global Passive House Happy Hour on Wednesdays, 11pm GMT. (Weekly)
International Passive House Association: Online PHI courses and events including in Canada can be found here.

Passive House Institute US: training and event calendar
RDH Building Science live (monthly): May 6th Exterior Insulation, a More Layered Understanding


 
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