What is Passive House Certification?

The Passive House Institute of the U.S. PHIUS+ Certification program is the leading passive building certification program in North America. It’s the only passive building certification that combines a thorough passive house design verification protocol with a stringent Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) program performed on site by highly skilled and specialized PHIUS+ Raters. The benefits of PHIUS+ certification include:

PHIUS+ 2015, climate-specific, cost-optimized performance metrics*
The new standard provides the sweet spot where aggressive energy and carbon reduction overlap with cost effectiveness. They take into account a full range of variables including climate zone, source energy, and costs. The standards were developed over three years by the PHIUS Technical Committee and Building Science Corporation under a U.S. DOE Building America Grant. Read more about the new PHIUS+ 2015 passive building standard.
Comprehensive design and energy model review
Passive buildings in North American climates present unique design challenges; small missteps can lead to big problems. PHIUS+ certifiers are the most experienced passive house professionals in North America. They thoroughly review projects at the design stage, identify problems, and work with project designers to make projects work.
Rigorous quality assurance
Project testing and inspections are conducted by experienced HERS Raters, trained by PHIUS to work on PHIUS+ projects. The on-site inspections and testing help to assure PHIUS and the project teams that the buildings will perform as designed.
Earn U.S. DOE Zero Energy Ready Home status
PHIUS has partnered with the Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program–PHIUS+ Certification also earns ZERH (formerly know as Challenge Home) and Energy Star designations. In addition, through the Zero Energy Ready Home Lender Partner progam, the U.S. DOE is identifiying and promoting financial institutions that offer green mortgage appraisals to certified homes under the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home, EPA ENERGY STAR Certified Home, and PHIUS+ programs.
RESNET HERS Index Score
Most projects will automatically receive a RESNET HERS Index score as part of certification. The RESNET HERS Index is the leading industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. Many local, state, and federal financial incentive programs require a HERS Index to demonstrate compliance.
Listing on the PHIUS+ Certified Projects Database
PHIUS+ certified projects are included with pertinent project information and photos on the PHIUS+ Certified Projects Database.