In the North American green buildings market, where LEED, BREEAM, WELL, Living Building Challenge, and Green Globes dominate the landscape, the German-born Passivhaus standard (aka, Passive House) has struggled to gain a solid foothold, despite a strong grassroots growth effort among its early adopters.
There are an estimated 60,000 buildings worldwide designed and built to Passivhaus standards, the vast majority in Europe. In the U.S., more than 1.1 million sf of building space is certified or pre-certified to PHIUS+ standards, according to the Passive House Institute US. But the lion’s share is small residential buildings.
A new study conducted by FXFOWLE and funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority set out to determine the viability of Passivhaus for tall residential buildings. The research involved investigating the feasibility of adapting the design of a sustainable mixed-use high-rise building in the 2016 New York City market to Passivhaus requirements. The base case building is a 593,000-sf, 26-story multifamily high-rise building in Queens that is targeting LEED v.3 Silver Certification and 20% energy cost savings from ASHRAE 90.1-2007. The study examined the impacts of achieving the standard from an architectural, enclosure detailing, mechanical, structural, constructability, resiliency, zoning, and code perspective.
FXFOWLE’s findings show promise for the niche standard. The technical difficulties of meeting the stringent energy efficiency and insulation standards can be overcome with minimal aesthetic changes and a glazing ratio of up to 40%, according to the report’s authors, Ilana Judah, Intl. Assoc. AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Director of Sustainability, and Daniel Piselli, AIA, LEED AP, Senior Associate, both with FXFOWLE.
From a financial perspective, the Passivhaus design represents an increased capital cost of 2.4%, a 40-year net present value of $5.2 million, and a payback of 24 years as compared to the base case building.
“The multifamily project type and scale are favorable to meet Passivhaus requirements due to controllable internal heat gains and low enclosure to volume ratios,” the authors wrote. “Some code and regulatory requirements conflict with Passivhaus strategies, and these must be aligned to enable implementation.”
Related Stories
| May 31, 2013
Nation's first retrofitted zero-energy building opens in California
The new training facility for IBEW/NECA is the first commercial building retrofit designed to meet the U.S. Department of Energy’s requirements for a net-zero energy building.
| May 17, 2013
LEED v4 has provision to reduce water use in cooling towers
The next version of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED rating system will expand water-savings targets to appliances, cooling towers, commercial kitchen equipment, and other areas.
| May 14, 2013
Paints and coatings: The latest trends in sustainability
When it comes to durability, a 50-year building design ideally should include 50-year coatings. Many building products consume substantial amounts of energy, water, and petrochemicals during manufacture, but they can make up for it in the operations phase. The same should be expected from architectural coatings.
| May 9, 2013
10 high-efficiency plumbing fixtures
From a "no sweat" toilet to a deep-well lavatory, here's a round up of the latest high-efficiency plumbing fixtures.
| May 9, 2013
Post-tornado Greensburg, Kan., leads world in LEED-certified buildings per capita
Six years after a tornado virtually wiped out the town, Greensburg, Kan., is the world's leading community in LEED-certified buildings per capita.
| May 3, 2013
'LEED for all GSA buildings,' says GSA Green Building Advisory Committee
The Green Building Advisory Committee established by the General Services Administration, officially recommended to GSA that the LEED green building certification system be used for all GSA buildings as the best measure of building efficiency.
| Apr 25, 2013
Colorado State University, DLR Group team to study 12 high-performance schools
DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University have collaborated on a research project to evaluate the effect of green school design on occupants and long-term building performance.
| Apr 24, 2013
North Carolina bill would ban green rating systems that put state lumber industry at disadvantage
North Carolina lawmakers have introduced state legislation that would restrict the use of national green building rating programs, including LEED, on public projects.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
