We are excited to announce that Paul Davis AIA is now a Certified Passive House Designer through the Passive House Institute! This enables him to add the coveted professional credential “CPHD” to his name. Much more importantly, it enables PDA to provide powerfully effective sustainable design services to our clients. Passive Houses (which can actually be any type of building – not only houses) are extremely energy efficient and allow the people inside high levels of comfort and exceptional air quality without using a conventional heating or cooling system. By efficiently using the heat from the sun, highly insulated roofs, windows and walls, and internal heat sources and heat recovery, these structures are able to maintain a comfortable temperature inside even if the outside temperature is very cold or warm. Depending on the local climate, the levels of insulation needed will differ but a Passive House can be built in all climates. Another perk of building a Passive House is the lower, long term expense in energy, especially now with energy costs being so high! And in areas with poor air quality, Passive House features and technology will enable occupants to strictly limit exposure to air-born toxins such as vehicular emissions, wildfire smoke particles, viruses, and other unhealthy products of modern life.
In a Passive House, the upfront costs of using higher quality assemblies and materials are meaningfully offset by the overall lower long-term operating costs. Using less energy is something that Paul Davis Architects is always interested in supporting!
To earn his certification, Paul took rigorous courses in topics including insulation and avoidance of thermal bridging, heating/cooling, airtight design, energy balancing and construction/sustainability economics. He then passed the international written exam to become a Certified Passive House Designer. We welcome your inquiries about Passive House techniques, and other ways to design, build, and live more sustainably. PDA believes that architects and their clients have important roles to play on this vital front!
