News — Passive House Austin

Last Thursday the PHAUS Austin Chapter had a great ice cream social event at The Tasty Spoon Gelateria in South Austin. The event was an open invitation to the Austin community to come out and mingle with the chapter, learn more about passive house construction efforts in Austin, and (hopefully) join our chapter. The event was generously sponsored by Zehnder America.

We had a great turnout, lots of camaraderie and conversation, and it was a rare cool moment in the midst of the grueling Austin, TX summer. Maybe gelato is the way forward in bringing the passive house movement to hot, humid climates?

Delicious gelato flavors made in house by The Tasty Spoon in Austin, TX

Humid Climate Conference Fundraiser Check Presented To Austin Habitat For Humanity

Passive House Austin Habitat For Humanity Humid Climate Conference

Keep an eye on our calendar page for the next event! We'll be hosting more community focused events like this to grow the chapter, stay involved in the AEC industry, and educate/advocate for passive house construction in Central Texas.

Thanks to Zehnder America for sponsoring such a great evening (and for making pretty rad ERVs).

Dr. Joe Lstiburek giving his keynote address

We're proud to have organized, hosted, and completed the second biennial Humid Climate Conference in Austin, TX. The conference was held at the AT&T Conference Center on the University of Texas campus. The conference was organized by the PHAUS Austin group (if you don't know how you got to this article, just know that you're reading it on the PHAUS Austin website), with support from our parent organizations PHIUS and PHAUS.

The Origin Story

It all started with a wild idea... Our local chapter was thinking about how to get more attention to the PHIUS+ 2015 standard in humid climates (note there's been an update that was announced at this year's conference: see more below). We thought putting on a conference might work. So we did it. It was a smashing success. The event sold out and was sponsored by some of the best product manufacturers and industry consultants in the country. Like the crazy people we are, we decided to give it a second try two years later and here we are, heads still spinning from how awesome it was.

Highlights

These are just a few of the big moments and memories from this year's conference.

Announcement Of PHIUS + 2018

In 2014, under a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and in partnership with Building Science Corporation, PHIUS set out to develop the first and only climate specific passive building standard. The resulting PHIUS+ 2015 standardaccounted not only for substantial differences between climate zones, but also for market and other variables, retaining rigorous conservation goals, while making passive building more rational and cost effective. PHIUS+ 2015 helped dramatically accelerate adoption.

PHIUS recognized that technologies, market conditions, carbon reduction goals and even climates could change over time. Consequently, PHIUS committed to revising the standard to reflect such changes. PHIUS+ 2018 is the first updated revision, and it will be phased in through 2018 and will eventually replace PHIUS+ 2015. This update focuses on adding more nuance for different building types, and supporting an overall transition to renewable energy.

PHIUS+ 2018 is the first updated revision, and it will be phased in through 2018 and will eventually replace PHIUS+ 2015.

Great Speaker Dinner At The Famous Franklin Barbecue

We had a ton of fun eating a ton of food, but even after everyone had a few cold beers on a very hot day, everyone got their Uber home safely.

We Fundraised For Austin Habitat For Humanity

All of our fantastic sponsors offered up some great prizes for a wild and rowdy raffle drawing, the proceeds of which went directly to the Austin Habitat For Humanity.

The PHAUS Austin crew delivering fundraiser check to the Austin Habitat For Humanity team.

We Had A Lot Of Fun & Learned A Lot About Passive House Construction In Humid Climates

There were presentations on Passive House specific development, design, construction, as well as ventures into new areas of overlap between health science and building science - like indoor air quality, the relationship between mechanical systems and our bodies, etc. We had a diverse and incredible group of sponsors this year. The sense of camaraderie we felt was phenomenal and we can't wait to do it again.