#Passivhaus Certified Passive House Consultant Course – I'm finally doing it!

Posted onAuthorMark Stephens2 Comments

Well I’ve finally taken the plunge and I’m booked onto the Certified Passive House Consultant/Designer Course in Newry next week.

As my faithful readers will know I’m a big Passivhaus advocate and have written copiously on the subject over the years:

I’ve already completed the PHPP course (the worksheets/calculations for Passivhaus) and undertaken numerous CPD and training courses on airtightness and the like (I’ve even undertaken the registered SIGA airtightness contractor course to install their products so that I could make sure the contractors I work with are installing correctly.)

The plan was to learn PHPP (which I’ve done) and then to become a Certified Passive House Consultant/Designer through completing a certified Passivhaus Project. Then the bottom fell out of the market and although we’ve got close to the Passivhaus standard over the last few years; none of the clients were able/interested to go the whole enchilada and obtain certification.

The goal therefore in undertaking the course (as well as passing the ‘rigourous’ exam in December is to work on convincing my clients of the following:

  • The Passivhaus standard isn’t just a nutty idea that is for hairy shirted eco types
  • Current Building Regulations are rapidly approaching the Passivhaus standard anyway – why not get a head start and get there first
  • There’s a massive benefit in paying for and obtaining the Passivhaus certification in terms of reassurance and house value. I liken the Passivhaus Certification to studying hard for your Leaving Cert or A’ levels and then not taking the exams; you won’t know what you get until you take the test! Why live in doubt?

    So for the next few weeks, you’ll be seeing a lot more posts (and tweets) of a Passivhaus nature…

    I’m in Newry as this is the closest to me at this time of year, it would have been nice to have taken the course a little closer to home (even Galway or Sligo) but I guess it’ll be nice travelling/staying to the UK for a bit even if I’m not leaving the Island.

    • 2 thoughts on “#Passivhaus Certified Passive House Consultant Course – I'm finally doing it!”

    1. I feel your pain Mark. I started specialising in Passive House in 2004 and had several projects in development for years which were to be certified PH’s. All fell through when clients lost their shirts in the crash or just had to delay or cut back. Finally got once certified in 2009 and used that project for my Certification as designer (CPHD). Another was completed to PH standard including airtightness and PHPP confirmation, but the client hit financial trouble before the certificate was issued and the process stopped. Very difficult for all concerned.
      Best of luck with the exam and may you find plenty of Passive House clients!

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