PBC original articles

Get your passive house read on

From how passive house is done with kitchens, to how to care about air tightness, to passive house in Quebec and beyond PBC has produced a number of original articles over the last few years, largely drawing on technical writer interns. Check them out below!

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Raidin Blue Raidin Blue

Toronto Launches Deep Retrofit Challenge

The goal of the Deep Retrofit Challenge is to build up market confidence in deep retrofits, encourage voluntary compliance with existing building policies, and inform future energy codes.

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Raidin Blue Raidin Blue

Business case for deep retrofits developing in BC

The Reframed Initiative brings together the construction industry, building owners, financiers, and policy makers to share knowledge on best practices to advance the business case of deep retrofits.

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Greg Labbé Greg Labbé

Change Has To Come

Make no mistake, the construction site is filled with hot heads and hierarchies established by the age-old tradition of barking orders, nipping at heels for production with an equal measure of machismo and bravado.

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Greg Labbé Greg Labbé

How to Care About Air: thoughts on air tightness

Caring is about paying attention. Sweating the details. Let it be said that detailing an ABS for new construction is considerably easier than trying to cobble an ABS in an existing building. So hat’s off to all those who tackle the Deep Energy Retrofit of vintage buildings. Here’s a priority list of items to pay attention to.

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Greg Labbé Greg Labbé

The evolution of enclosures and the evolution of my thinking

As an energy auditor, I always had a quick answer and swung from the hips with the solution, but when my turn came to make decisions with my son about his house, I was caught in a morass of decision making paralysis. I wasn’t the role model I wanted to be.

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Hayley Cloona Hayley Cloona

Do Our Actions Matter? How Occupant Behaviour Affects High-Performance Buildings

It is clear that as high-performance building standards become more popular, issues with the certification system become more evident. We currently lack the mechanisms to require operational performance data from certified buildings past the initial modelling and audit phase which is a major barrier to improving these standards.

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Hayley Cloona Hayley Cloona

Passive House: Climate-Proofing Against Disease and Smoke

Passive buildings have long been known for their ability to reduce energy consumption and costs for the owner. Despite debates over effectiveness, it is also clear that the passive house standard offers more protection against climate-induced indoor air pollution than a code-built house.

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