Month: March 2023

Energy Efficiency made Simple

New Federal Tax Credit dollars for energy efficient construction

There’s some interesting changes going on at the Department of Energy: The new 45L provisions include two tiers of credits, with the higher credits for eligible homes and dwelling units certified to applicable ZERH program requirements. The Inflation Reduction Act 45L credit is $1,000 for apartment dwelling units that are part of a building eligible to…
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“Beautifully designed and beautifully built”

“Beautifully designed and beautifully built” This laneway housing project, designed by BSN Architects, received a SAB Award for small residential category (2021). Local Impact Design was Passive House Consultant, energy modeler and structural/HVAC engineer. The project is exemplary in a number of ways, proving the concept of pre-fab + Passive House + net zero energy.…
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Changing the way we design and construct the built environment through example, education and innovation.

The savings to be realized by Passive House architecture are exponentially increased when we build institutional and commercial projects. We are pleased to have one of the most experienced commercial/institutional Passive House architects in the world as our founder. Adam Cohen brings thirty years of experience as both a builder and an architect. He has…
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Prefabricated and Factory Built

With demand for Passive House-quality panels and modules on the rise, the factories producing these goods are expanding in number, capacity, and production. Most are new businesses producing Passive House-performance exterior wall, floor, and roof panels. Yet a strong contingent of existing businesses are also growing their product lines to include higher-performance, thermal-bridge-free Passive House…
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PASSIVE HOUSE PAST, PASSIVE HOUSE FUTURE

At this decadal-shifting, stock-taking moment, where is Passive House headed? On the one hand, Passive House building—like other parts of the clean energy transition—is growing at an exponential rate. In the United States, for example, it is doubling every year (based on PHUIS+ project data). That is heartening! On the other hand, the market share…
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Video: Tim McDonald on Making Multifamily Passive House a Reality

This presentation was recorded on October 8th, 2019 for the Passive House Rocky Mountian monthly online roundtable, a regular event typically on the first Tuesday featuring a wide range of speakers and topics related to Passive House and low carbon buildings. The goal of Zero Carbon Multifamily starts with Passive House Tim McDonald is the President and…
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11 great reasons why Passive House is such a great green building standard

When considering a building standard there are eleven complimentary reasons to choose the Passive House Standard. 1.  It fundamentally addresses the climate crisis imperative.  To mitigate the worst effects of climate change we are required to decarbonize our economies while meeting the demands of global development.  Passive House does this by providing the same low…
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Parade Street housing facilities hosts ribbon cutting

The $12-million-dollar Parade Street affordable housing project, which uses The Build SMART System, in Erie’s East Side is complete! The Parade Street Commons East is located just off of Parade Street between East 19th and 20th Streets. This new addition of housing gives families with low to moderate income another option of somewhere to live.…
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Why Building Resilience is the Future of Sustainable Building

Hurricane Michael. Superstorm Sandy. The Phuket Tsunami. The Nepal Earthquake. Super Typhoon Haiyan. Whenever and wherever a natural disaster wreaks havoc in the world, sustainability and building resilience, a.k.a. resilient design, becomes the topic of conversation amongst architects, builders, and contractors. Yet the two, while equally important, are not synonyms. A newsfeed populated with catastrophic images of death and…
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We’ve Officially Declared our Commitment to a Healthier Future for All

In 2019, Build SMART became an official corporate signer of the Kansas Climate + Health Declaration, an initiative to “increase awareness of the impacts of climate change on public health, to increase civic engagement on climate action in Kansas, and to advance policies that build community resilience and safeguard the future of our state.” The building…
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