What it is
PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) administers the Passive House building standard in North America. Passive House is a performance-based standard requiring buildings to meet strict thresholds for heating demand (typically 4.75 kBtu/ft2/year), cooling demand, airtightness (0.6 ACH50), and source energy. Certification covers design review, construction quality assurance, and blower door testing. PHIUS also offers training and certification for designers and builders.
Why we picked this
Passive House buildings use 60 to 80% less energy for heating and cooling than code-built homes. The standard achieves this through five principles: continuous insulation, airtight envelope, high-performance windows, thermal bridge-free design, and heat recovery ventilation. Unlike LEED, which awards points across many categories (some of which have minimal impact), Passive House is laser-focused on the one metric that matters most for building energy: the thermal envelope. The result is buildings that stay comfortable with minimal mechanical systems and near-zero energy bills.
Key takeaways
- Passive House buildings use 60 to 80% less energy for heating and cooling compared to code-built homes, with many achieving near-zero energy bills.
- The airtightness standard (0.6 ACH50) is 5 to 10 times tighter than typical new construction, virtually eliminating drafts, dust infiltration, and noise transmission.
- PHIUS certification costs less per project than LEED certification and delivers more measurable energy performance improvements, making it the better value for residential projects.