We just wrapped on another inspiring Passive House Pulse event. This was our first time bringing Pulse to Kelowna (or anywhere in the B.C. interior for that matter). So we were thrilled that over 50 people registered to attend. Many attendees travelling from out of the area.
We hosted the event at the Kelowna Innovation Centre, which had its own small theatre, perfect for functions like ours. Initially everyone gathered in the atrium for networking and refreshments. They chatted with our sponsors at their displays and got to know each other before moving into the theatre.
Presentation 1 – Reality Check: What Buildings Can Teach Us After the Ribbon-Cutting
Scott Ghomeshi from Introba led the evening, educating us all about the unique requirements that went in to creating a Passive House Fire Hall. Their hot water needs are surprisingly high, so things like drain water heat recovery were incorporated.
The truck bays are part of the Passive House building envelope, and sourcing overhead garage doors that can move at the speeds necessary for fire hall use was challenging. There were no Passive House certified options, so the garage doors needed to be custom made to meet the airtightness and speed requirements.
Overall, the feedback from the firefighters has been very positive, the building is located on a busy road and the interior is incredibly quiet. Everyone wants to work at this location. The City of Vancouver is thrilled with the 90% energy savings, combined with the high satisfaction of the employees. They’re already looking to build more Passive House fire halls.
Presentation 2 – From Design to Build, to Real-Life Performance of a Passive House
Brett Sichello from NIDO design gave the second presentation, about his experience building his own high-performance near-Passive home. He discussed the compromises and tough financial decisions he had to make along the way.
The home he built was a duplex, in partnership with another family, in order to divide the expenses. They opted for a shared first floor mechanical room and to then build the living spaces elevated on stilts to prepare them for potential flooding due to living along a creek. This required the additional need to insulate the floors.
The siding and roofing are aluminum to help resist any wildfire embers. While the airtightness of the building and ERV will protect them from wildfire smoke.
They were able to save a lot of money by doing the work themselves. In the end, they have achieved a highly efficient, peaceful home surrounded by nature and prepared to withstand the elements.
The audience appreciated Brett’s transparency when outlining the tough decisions and compromises he had to make which resulted in not achieving the Passive House standard.
Panel Discussion
Our panel consisted of our two presenters with the addition of Deren Sentesy from Stretch Construction. They discussed the necessity for people to stay in one place and invest in a home, people will be more likely to make long-term decisions like quality windows and ERV systems, and how those choices should determine what’s considered a luxury home, rather than the size of the structure.
Spray foam was discussed and the panelists explained the environmental impact. It was noted that as a building shifts over time, it can form cracks in the foam and lead to air leakage getting worse over time.
There were numerous discussions about the current state of housing and it was emphasized that the B.C. Step Code is headed in the direction of Passive House. That regardless, we’ll all need to be prepared to build this way in the future. We know change can be hard. Many people expressed concern over the cost. But as we all move forward and improve efficiency in the process, we will all start to see those costs come down. The additional cost of building a high-performance home has already come down significantly in recent years. Many have been built for nearly the same price as a code-built home. We just need to bring awareness and keep pushing forward.
The night wrapped with some more networking and plans to come back in the future to do it again.
A huge thank you to our sponsors for making this fantastic event possible!
