One of the most urgent challenges in buildings today is how to affordably retrofit existing ones. Too much of our current building stock wastes energy and is unhealthy or uncomfortable to occupy, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. In order to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the International Energy Agency's Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap urges a step jump in "zero-carbon-ready" retrofits to a rate of 30 million dwellings per year through 2030. Passive House retrofits provide a proven pathway to dramatically reduce the energy use and operation carbon emissions of existing buildings of all types. Both PHI and PHIUS offer retrofit certification pathways, and project teams around the world are tackling retrofits of everything from single-family brownstones to apartment towers.
Read, view, and listen to Passive House retrofit examples and insights in the articles, videos, and podcast interviews below.
Articles
4/19/24
Addressing Obstacles to Deep Energy Retrofits
Article, Retrofit
3/5/24
Adaptive Solutions: Retrofitting Buildings with Sustainable Systems
Article, Sponsored, Retrofit
2/26/24
Updating for Efficiency While Preserving the Past
Sponsored, Retrofit
2/16/24
A Life-Cycle Assessment of a Retrofit
Article, Retrofit
Videos
4/22/24
Illya Azaroff on the impact of NYSERDA's Buildings of Excellence Awards Program
Video, Award
4/22/24
Mark Ginsberg on 819 Grand and Round 4 of the NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence Competition
Video, Award
4/22/24
Fernando Villa and Sarah Bayer on the Carmen Villegas Apartments, a Buildings of Excellence Winner
Video, Award
4/22/24
Sean Flynn of Curtis + Ginsburg discusses Three Arts, a NYERDA Buildings of Excellence Award Winner
Video, Award
Projects
4/18/24
Bellwether on Main
project, Detached single-family house, New construction, PHIUS
4/18/24
Bird's Wing Passivhaus + Duplex
project, PH Institution (PHI), mixed, New construction, Multifamily, Single Family, Detached two-family house, timber
4/18/24
Leichhardt enerPHit
project, PH Institution (PHI), mixed, Retrofit, Single Family, Multi-family Dwelling (mixed use)
4/18/24
Colombini Residence
project, mixed, New construction, Single Family, timber