Announcements on PHMass Changes
7/31/24 From Hank Keating, Board President Many of you will have read Aaron’s message by now and may have questions regarding our future plans. I’m writing to reassure all of … Continued
Press Release: PHMass Joins UN Initiative on High Performance Buildings
Press Release July 31, 2023 Passive House Massachusetts signs letter of intent to join the Buildings Action Coalition to support United Nations’ Initiative on High Performance Buildings Passive House Massachusetts … Continued
The Passive House Network Releases a Report on the Low Costs and Improved Occupant Health of Multifamily Projects
The report confirms the low incremental cost for multifamily projects to achieve Passive House and provides data showing how Passive House projects can be healthier and more comfortable than traditional … Continued
MIT and Wentworth Release Report on The Impacts of the New Building Codes on Housing Affordability
The report was conducted with support from the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts (HBRAMA), who held a press conference of their own this past month at the State … Continued
Public Housing Passive House Project Breaks Ground in Boston
Earlier this month, Mayor Wu and others gathered to break ground for Phase One of The Bunker Hill Housing Redevelopment, the largest Public Housing Redevelopment in Boston’s history – with … Continued
Passive House Year in Review 2022
What a year was for development of Passive House projects and the advancement of policies and incentives here in Massachusetts. Here are just a few highlights of what we have … Continued
Highlights from the 2022 Passive House Massachusetts Symposium
Over 200 attendees gathered in the BSA Space in downtown Boston for our first in-person Symposium in three years. Together we celebrated our collective work over these last several years … Continued
2022 Local PHIUS Project Winners
This past month, PHIUS held their annual Passive Projects Design Awards in Chicago to highlight buildings across the country that are pushing the envelope for passive house – and several … Continued
The New Stretch Code and the Specialized Opt-In Code
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has released the final draft of the state’s new building codes as required by last year’s Climate Act. The result is an updated … Continued
Boston Globe Highlights Auburndale Builders and StudioHPDC
The Boston Globe recently highlight Nick Falkoff’s work at Auburndale Builders and the Studio for High-Performance Design & Construction (StudioHPDC). The video features Nick discussing the need for more carpenter … Continued
DOER Releases New Building Code Details and Invites Comments
On June 24th, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) released draft code language for its Stretch Energy Code and Specialized Municipal Opt-in Code: Summary Document Explaining the Stretch Energy … Continued
Mass Save Launches 1-4 Unit Incentive Program
The Sponsors of Mass Save have officially announced the launch of a new incentive program for 1-4 unit residential buildings. The program is aimed at driving residential new construction toward … Continued
State Programs Inspire Efficient Affordable Housing
From Energy News Network Passive house incentive programs from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center and Mass Save have sparked the growth of high-performance multifamily buildings, with thousands more units in … Continued
Finch Cambridge Opens as a Model of an Affordable, Low-Carbon, and Healthy Building
After years of development, planning, and construction, Finch Cambridge has opened its doors to residents for the first time – and established itself as a model for affordable, low-carbon, and … Continued
Massachusetts Takes the Lead on Passive House
Massachusetts Takes the Lead on Passive House While Massachusetts has been a longtime leader in energy efficiency programing, the state is finally taking the lead on the development of low-carbon … Continued
A Surge in Affordable Multifamily Passive House in Boston
Passive House Accelerator
Mass Save Incentives Expanded to Include Smaller Buildings
The Sponsors of Mass Save® have just announced an expansion of the Passive House Incentive Program to include all multi-family buildings of five or more units. Previously, only multi-family buildings … Continued
Somerville Includes Passive House in New Zoning Plan
Passive House is now ingrained into the City of Somerville’s development policy. The City Council approved the new Somerville Zoning Ordinance in December. This plan provides Passive House certification as … Continued
Brookline Bans New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure in Buildings
While the Passive House standard does not require electrification of buildings, many projects strive to entirely avoid the use of gas, and now in at least one town in the … Continued
MassCEC Awards Eight New Passive House Developments
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s Passive House Design Challenge program has awarded grants to eight affordable housing developments throughout the state that will be built to the Passive House standard. … Continued
Passive House Training Tool
This new training tool was developed primarily for multi-family projects but may be helpful for other Passive House building types. The goal of the tool is to empower each project … Continued
Creating a Net-Zero Stretch Code
At this year’s Passive House Symposium, we featured a session on updating the Massachusetts Stretch Code for Net-Zero and Passive House buildings led by Rebecca Winterich-Knox of the Mass Climate … Continued
Multi-Family Passive House: Bringing Passive House to Scale
Introduction to Multi-Family Passive House: Bringing Passive House to Scale On May 13th, 2019, PHMA sponsored a discussion on the PHIUS standard and multi-family Passive House development with Katrin Klingenberg, … Continued
Emerging Professional Scholarship
PHMA Emerging Professional Scholarship for PHIUS CPHC Training This scholarship will award one recipient with a fully funded registration for the upcoming PHIUS CPHC training in Boston from June 17 … Continued
Updating Building Codes for Zero-Energy and Passive House
At our last monthly meeting in February we welcomed speakers for a discussion on updating building codes to encourage Net-Zero and Passive House buildings. Below is a summary of that … Continued
Passive House Funding Included in State Approved 2019‑2021 Energy Efficiency Plan
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved this week the state’s new three-year energy efficiency plan that outlines utility directed energy savings programs and with it congratulations are in order … Continued
Wheaton College Goes Passive
When Wheaton College went to build a new residence hall, they not only wanted more space for their students, but to also create a model for environmental sustainability. The result … Continued
Passive House Reaches for the Sky (and the record books) in Boston
Boston will soon be home the largest Passive House building in the world when it welcomes the new Winthrop Center tower. The massive new skyscraper will be constructed at the … Continued
MassCEC Launches the Passive House Design Challenge
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) has issued a call for solicitations for a new funding program aimed at promoting Passive House buildings. The Passive House Design Challenge is meant … Continued
Passive House Funding and Policy Initiatives
Passive House in the EEAC Three-Year Plan After a year of work from our members and partners, the Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC) has officially included funding for Passive House … Continued
Passive House Policy Initiatives
Passive House in the EEAC Three-Year Plan The Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC) is currently drafting their next Three-Year Plan for how to allocate energy efficiency program funding in … Continued
Construction begins on a Passive inspired student residence at MIT.
Incorporating sustainable construction techniques inspired by the Passive House standard, a student residence hall has begun construction on the Vassar Street in Cambridge. Read more at MIT News.
Energy-saving Quincy home costs $215 a year to heat, cool.
Design New England profiles a Passive House in Quincy designed by GO Logic, noting that it’s “ cool [on a warm summer day], comfortable, moderately priced, cheap to operate, and … Continued
Ultra-Efficient, Economical Apartments Now In South Boston Are Part Of ‘Big Wave’
You may have heard about passive housing: residences built to achieve ultra-low energy use. Imported from Germany, it’s been kind of a boutique-y thing here until recently, with eco-minded homeowners … Continued
NESEA Pro Tour: Passive and Net Zero Buildings on a Working Farm
September 16, 20161:00 to 5:00 PM @ Westport, MA This Pro Tour will take you through a mixed-use site featuring residential green building methods in a small-scale agricultural settings. The tour includes three … Continued
Open Mic Night!
PH Mass September 13, 20166:30 to 8 PM @ BSA Boston This is your opportunity to bring questions, basic or advanced, as well as pictures of projects, details for the … Continued