REGISTRATION FOR 2024 SPRING CONFERENCE NOW OPEN!

One Day, One Track, One Topic…Massive Information! 

OK, you have done the homework, reviewed the building science, ran the energy model and created a gorgeous aesthetic with an optimized form for your next passive project. What's the next step?

 Once one has minimized the energy usage and optimized the gains through the enclosure, then the mechanical system is the next most important path to a successful passive building. Please join our curated group of experts as we discuss what is the same and what is different with HVAC in passive buildings and discuss operational energy use and embodied carbon aspects of HVAC systems. For those who endeavor to create the highest levels of durability, health, resilience, comfort and energy efficiency in the built environment, this one day conference will highlight one of the most misunderstood and important aspects of low-load buildings. 

We have two incredible keynote speakers, several panels, great food and drink, and lots of extra time to network and socialize with our community, including a tour of passive buildings in the greater Seattle area. Please don't miss out on this great event!

 

Conference Schedule

 

We think that the best format to get the most relevant information about HVAC and how it fits with Passive House is to just have a conversation with our guest speakers . We have set up panels filled with some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. Come hear their stories, and come with your questions!

Schedule*

7:45a - 8:15 Registration

8:30 - 9:00 Welcome Event

9:00 - 9:55 Keynote Speaker, Bryan Orr

10:00 - 12:00 Panel #1

12:00 - 1:30 Lunch & Vendor Time

1:30 - 3:30 Panel #2

3:40 - 4:00 PHnw - Meet the Board

4:00 - 4:55 Keynote Speaker, Andrew Himes

5:00 - 6:00 Happy Hour!

6:00 - 7:30 Dinner

7:30 - 9:00 Bar & Networking

  • Schedule is subject to change

Keynote Speakers

Bryan Orr

Central Florida native Bryan Orr is co-founder and president of Kalos Services, an Orlando-area HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) business. He is also a writer, husband, father of ten, lifelong technician, and professional podcaster/radio producer. In 1999, Bryan started in HVAC trade school at the age of 17. By the age of 21, he was the hiring and training manager for the service department at the largest residential HVAC firm in the Southeast (Del-Air). He started his own business in 2001 with his father and uncle, and has grown it from 3 employees to 300 plus over the last 20+ years with technical training being his primary role throughout. Technical training is the backbone of everything Bryan has done in his career and has been the primary factor in the success of Kalos Services. HVAC School takes three of his greatest skills (HVAC Training, Writing, Podcasting) and makes use of them in a way that will impact the HVAC/R in a place and time of great need.

Andrew Himes

Andrew Himes is Director of Collective Impact at the Life Cycle Lab at the University of Washington, working on collective impact initiatives to reduce embodied carbon emissions in built environments, including building materials, design, construction, and retrofits. He hosts the NGO/Government Roundtable on Embodied Carbon, explores opportunities for collective action to reduce embodied carbon, manages strategic communications for the CLF, and supports CLF’s Online Community and network of Regional Hubs. In 2018, he was coordinator of Carbon Smart Building Day, a conference affiliated with the Global Climate Action Summit focused on transforming the global building industry to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Himes has delivered keynote presentations for the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA), the California Industrial and Construction Materials Association (CalCIMA), the Chinese American Construction Professionals Association (CACPA), the South Asian Cities Conference (Karachi), the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI), the Worldwide Conference on Human Values (Monterrey, MX), and others. Watch Andrew’s 2021 TedX talk Change Our Buildings, Save Our Planet.

In 1987 Himes was founding editor of MacTech, still today the leading Apple technology journal, then was founding editor of the Microsoft Developer Network and led the first web development project at Microsoft in the early 90s. Himes was founding executive director for Charter for Compassion International in the 2000s. He is the author of The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family and was executive producer/author of the 2004 documentary Voices in Wartime.

 

Our Emcee for the Conference

Shaun St-Amour

Shaun St-Amour is currently the VP of Operations at Clay Construction and helping take them and their clients into the high-performance world. He is also very passionate about sustainable prefab passive houses. He was a product consultant with 475 High Performance Building Supply for Western Canada. He graduated from The University of British Columbia with a degree in Wood Products Processing. He is a certified Passive House Tradesperson. He also obtained a Building Construction Technology Associate Certificate at BCIT while working at Viceroy Homes and BOSA Construction. Shaun has been involved with the Passive House Accelerator and if he isn’t talking about passive houses, he’s playing Lego with his daughters or working on his hubby-do list.

Panel 1: Single Family

Martha Rose

“Despite a love of math and science, I didn't go to college. Instead, I chose construction which pays its workers while they learn. Life is funny how it works out. Ten years as a carpenter led to 4 years as a building inspector, followed by ten years as a free-lance project manager building other developers' projects. Those experiences gave me the knowledge to become a spec home builder. Over the next 27 years I have been able to make decisions about how to build some of our housing stock - a privilege that I don't take lightly. Each project becomes a lab for testing out new ideas - especially related to energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Fifty one years later I am still learning!”

Aaron Barnett

Aaron Barnett is an HVAC designer with a focus on high performance and Passive House Building. He started working on Passive Houses as a project superintendent at Cascade Built in 2015, giving him extensive hands-on experience with building low load, high efficiency homes. This role eventually evolved to focus exclusively on HVAC design and installation, working on a wide variety of single and multifamily projects in the Seattle area.

After leaving Cascade Built in 2020, Aaron founded Balance Construction Consulting, which focuses on providing high-quality third-party HVAC design. Working with owners, architects, and builders, Balance helps deliver the right HVAC solutions to provide comfortable, efficient homes across the Pacific Northwest.

Helene Cornell

Helene Cornell is the Chief Growth Office and Co-Founder of Aris Hydronics. She has 16 years experience in Real Estate as a Builder, Investor, and licensed agent. She is passionate about the relationship that occupants have to the inherited systems in their homes. She understands what drives homeowner safety and comfort. She brings the heart and humor to our Heat Pump.

Odd fact: taught how to swing a sledgehammer by her mom at 13 years old, violating several child labor laws.

Greg Davenport - Arcxis

Panel 2: Multifamily

Albert Rooks

Albert Rooks has worked to establish and strengthen the Passive House Standard in North America. In 2010, he founded Small Planet Supply Inc., a company that imports and distributes passive house components. The company currently has branch offices in Tumwater, WA and Vancouver BC., and has merged the operations of California based H3 into Small Planet Supply in 2019. In 2015, he co-founded CertiPhiers Cooperative with Tad Everhart. CertiPhiers is an internationally accredited building certification company that verifies projects are built to the International Passive House Standard. In 2021 he founded the WaterDrop system packaged central heat pump water heater for large building domestic hot water.

Sharon Libby Eyerly

Sharon joined Walsh Construction Co. in 2013 with over a decade of experience after a formal training in architecture. She started as a Quality Manager and became Quality Director in 2020, overseeing Walsh’s Quality department across both Washington and Oregon.

As Walsh’s Quality Director, she is responsible for the implementation of Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures and promoting collaborative design processes that bring innovative approaches to high-performance enclosures and systems. She provides critical oversight and leadership advising teams on building performance strategies, coordinating drawing reviews and specifications during preconstruction, and overseeing installation to ensure that Walsh meets owner goals for air-tightness, energy-efficiency and occupant health.  

Sharon has a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon and is a PHIUS Certified Builder (CPHB), CSI CDT, LEED AP, and Associate AIA.

Mike Smolkowski

Mike Smolkowski is a mechanical engineer with over a decade of experience in the design of mechanical systems. Having worked on a number of large-scale, complex commercial projects, Mike is proficient at optimizing total building efficiency using Passive House principles.  His experience with corporate office and university facilities such as the Georgia Tech Kendeda Building and the University of Washington Founder’s Hall has given him a strong understanding for creating comfortable, energy-efficient workspaces and classrooms.

Dan Whitmore

Dan Whitmore has worked in construction since 1987 as a carpenter, builder, and consultant with additional stints as a designer and FEMA Inspector. Since 2009 he has consulted on and/or built more than twenty passive house projects. As an instructor for PHIUS, co-developer of the PHIUS Certified Builder Training program, Chair of the Passive House Alliance US (PHAUS) and a founding Board Member of Passive House Northwest, his calling card sometimes says ‘Passive Obsessive’.

 

Our Mission

Passive House Northwest is a group of Certified Passive House Consultants and other individuals and organizations whose goal is to promote highly energy efficient construction through implementation of the passive house concept.

We are motivated by the long-term protection of the environment and climate; the promotion of sustainability, quality, and durability in building construction; the creation of a built environment that is healthy for its inhabitants; and the advancement of energy independence and the reduction of operating costs for building occupants and owners.

The strategies that we employ are: building and strengthening the Passive House community by facilitating communication and resource sharing; collecting and disseminating knowledge and facilitating education on the Passive House standard and developments in the field; practicing outreach through publicity and providing information to the general public; advocating for policies promoting Passive House as well as the protection of the standard; collaborating with other regional, national, and international Passive House organizations, as well as other related organizations; and promoting regional production of building elements needed for Passive House construction.

Please Consider Joining as a Member or becoming a Volunteer.

www.PHnw.org