Passive House Canada

If you are a designer or builder who wants to achieve a high-performing, durable Passive House building, you need to understand control layers. Control layers are materials and systems of materials that are specially designed, selected, and detailed to control water, vapour, and air. They are placed throughout the building, from the roof, walls, and floor to the below-grade enclosure assemblies, details, and interfaces. They consist of membranes and other materials typically described as air barriers, vapour barriers, and water-resistive barriers, or collectively as critical barriers.

There are two methods of becoming a certified Passive House Designer or Consultant: through submission of a certified Passive House project, or by passing the standardized international exam.  The exam is offered by Passive House Canada in cooperation with PHI. Certified Designers and Consultants will be listed on our website, as well as the international database. 

The exam is thorough and time-limited, and it is not recommended that you attempt the exam without first taking courses 120A, 120B and 120C offered by Passive House Canada.

If you are a designer or builder who wants to achieve a high-performing, durable Passive House building, you need to understand control layers. Control layers are materials and systems of materials that are specially designed, selected, and detailed to control water, vapour, and air. They are placed throughout the building, from the roof, walls, and floor to the below-grade enclosure assemblies, details, and interfaces.

Session 1: Introduction to Control Layers for Passive House Wall Assemblies will introduce the concept of building enclosure control layers and provide examples from passive house buildings of air barrier systems, vapour retarders/barriers, and wall/roof water management. The session will also cover placement of vapour control with different types and varying thicknesses of insulation and water control for walls, including rainscreens and water-resistive barrier materials. PHI Code

Passive House Design and Construction (120A) covers the technical, economic and policy elements of Passive House buildings. Participants will learn how to apply Passive House principles in the context of building physics, windows and mechanical systems. Numerous case studies, both domestic and international, will be used to demonstrate current best practices and teach concepts of cost assessment. Participants will also have the opportunity to solidify their learning with interactive exercises throughout the course.

There are two methods of becoming a certified Passive House Designer or Consultant: through submission of a certified Passive House project, or by passing the standardized international exam.  The exam is offered by Passive House Canada in cooperation with PHI. Certified Designers and Consultants will be listed on our website, as well as the international database. 

The exam is thorough and time-limited, and it is not recommended that you attempt the exam without first taking courses 120A, 120B and 120C offered by Passive House Canada.

The Certified Passive House Tradesperson Exam is a standardized international exam set by the Passive House Institute (PHI), and is offered three times each year. Certified Passive House Tradespeople will be listed in the directory on the Passive House Canada website and also on the International Passive House Association website.

The Passive House Designer/Consultant Exam is challenging, even for experienced architects and building professionals, so thorough preparation is essential. This two-day exam preparation course is specifically designed for those who have completed courses 120A and 120B (or equivalent), and who wish to write the exam to become a Certified Passive House professional. It gives participants the tools required to write a successful test.

How to Design and Build High-Performance Multi-Unit Buildings at the Lowest Possible Cost 

“A Pattern Language from Passive House” is an interactive workshop that teaches cost-effective planning and design of affordable, low-emission, mid-rise, multi-unit, wood-framed housing.

In this 16 hour course, you will model thermal bridges using Flixo and understand the impact of design details on the energy performance of High-Performance Buildings/ Passive House Buildings.  We cover the concepts and protocols for thermal bridge modelling. Then, you will model several common thermal bridges using Flixo with guidance.