Achieving Passivhaus Standard in North America: Lessons Learned

This paper will introduce and explore the Passive House standard design approach and requirements as well as demonstrate its application to new and retrofit projects in the North American context. Drawing from expertise on the early Passive House projects in the US and Germany, as well as on the ground experience of more recent successful and unsuccessful Passive House projects in North America, a journey toward the best practices in design application, cost and certification will be discussed. A brief review of the various products and systems incorporated in North American projects to meet the aggressive requirements of the passive house standard will also be introduced.

 

RMI's Top Federal Energy Policy Goals

This 19-page memo to the Obama administration outlines 17 goals that can reduce U.S. oil use and greenhouse gas emissions each by 50% in 10 years. These policies would also create over three million jobs in the next four years, and earning a profit for the nation in under 25 years.

 

The Energy Challenge: A New Agenda for Corporate Real Estate

From June of 2006 to April of 2007, the RMI and CoreNet Global team carried out research focused on identifying barriers, documenting successes, and outlining recommendations for the increased incorporation of energy efficiency in corporate real estate. The research included an online survey administered to over 240 real estate professionals as well as analysis of more than 15 corporations successfully incorporating energy efficiency measures and programs. The report concludes that corporations think about energy efficiency and believe it is growing in importance, yet they don’t have the management structures in place to realize improvements effectively.

 

Energy Performance Contracting for New Buildings

This guide, published by Eley Associates in consultation with RMI, can be used as a source of information to help designers and builders decide if performance contracting and performance-based fees are appropriate for specific projects. A step-by-step guide to creating performance contracts is provided.