Passive House Podcast

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy and Jay Fox talk with attendees at PhiusCon 26 in Phoenix. The conference opened with Katrin Klingenberg’s framing of Phius 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 and Zack Semke’s keynote on the “messy middle” of the energy transition. Ilka and Jay took those ideas onto the conference floor and asked everyone the same questions: what does passive building 3.0 mean to you, and what is still in the way of scaling? The answers cover New York’s blower door requirement, underwriting, prefab and design for manufacturing, and each guest's message for Mars. Thanks to IKON Windows and Doors for supporting our conference coverage. https://www.ikonwindows.com/Guests:Matt Ahern, Bright PowerChris Magwood, RMIKatrin Klingenberg, PhiusAlan Gibson, GO LogicBeth Campbell, Passive House MassachusettsAlyssa Fink, PhiusLinks and Resources:https://phmass.org/https://passivehouseri.org/https://www.phius.org/southwest-chapterhttps://www.phius.org/about-us/blogJoin us on the Reimagine Buildings Collective: https://collective.reimaginebuildings.com/Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com. And please join us at one of our Passive House Accelerator LIVE! zoom gatherings on Wednesdays.

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy talks with Emily Mottram, architect, co-owner of Mottram + Maines, and co-author of Pretty Good House; Michael Maines, residential designer, structural engineer by training, and co-founder of the BS + Beer Show; and Aaron Jones, carpenter, builder, and founder of BS + Beer Canada. The conversation comes ahead of BS + Beer’s three-hour Delivery programming block at Reimagine Buildings ‘26: The Solutions on November 6. BS + Beer started as a building science discussion group that met at a brewery in Maine, and it now has around 40 active groups in the US, Canada, and Australia.Emily, Michael, and Aaron talk about the gap between the people who design buildings and the people who build them, and why a builder who understands the reason behind a detail will do it right when conditions on site change. Emily argues against bid work and for paying contractors to help during design, so the team knows the wall assembly and the budget before drawings are finished. Aaron explains why a low-carbon building that only lasts five years is a failure, and why a well-built 1,100-square-foot house often serves clients better than a drafty 2,200-square-foot one. Their Delivery block at RB26 will cover durability and airtightness, explaining upfront costs to clients, building companies that are still around after the job ends, hot water system design, and the health of the crews doing the installation.View the full program here:https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-26/registrationRegister for Reimagine Buildings ‘26: The Solutions:https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-26/registrationwww.mottramandmaines.com Join us on the Reimagine Buildings Collective:https://collective.reimaginebuildings.com/

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast, Zack Semke and Michael Ingui talk with Ilijana Soldan, Senior Sustainability Manager at HCM, and Timothy Lock, Management Partner at OPAL, ahead of AIA COTE’s three-hour Design programming block at Reimagine Buildings ’26: The Solutions on November 6. Ilijana and Tim both serve on the 10-member COTE Leadership Group, which guides a national community of more than 16,000 AIA members.Ilijana and Tim explain where AIA COTE’s Framework for Design Excellence and Passive House already overlap, and where each community has something to learn from the other. The conversation offers a preview of AIA COTE’s three-hour Design block at Reimagine Buildings ’26. The first hour looks at where AIA COTE and the Passive House community already align. The second turns to the gaps between them, including a session on equitable communities. The programming will conclude with case studies from COTE Top Ten Award winners, including Coliseum Place Affordable Family Housing and Alice West Fleet Elementary School.View the full program here:https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-26/registrationRegister for Reimagine Buildings ’26: The Solutions:https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-26/registrationLearn more about AIA COTE: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/aia-cote-committee-on-the-environment/Committee on the Environment - AIA Community HubJoin us on the Reimagine Buildings Collective:https://collective.reimaginebuildings.com/

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy talks with Meghan Lewis, Program Director at the Carbon Leadership Forum (CLF), ahead of CLF's three-hour Materials programming block at Reimagine Buildings ’26: The Solutions on November 6.Meghan walks through CLF’s Embodied Carbon State Policy Playbook, highlighting states leading the way on policy and the challenges of turning legislation into action. The conversation explores who still needs a seat at the table, particularly developers and contractors who hold the cost data policymakers need. Meghan also shares how CLF’s 26 volunteer-led hubs and professional commitment programs like SE 2050 are helping spread knowledge and accelerate progress, and why embodied carbon policy must address housing rather than treating it as off-limits.The conversation offers a preview of CLF's three-hour Materials block at Reimagine Buildings ’26, which will bring together industry leaders to explore the policies, tools, and innovations driving embodied carbon reduction. Sessions will cover state-level policy, whole-building life cycle assessment benchmarking, and the hidden carbon impacts of MEP systems, followed by innovations in ultra-low-carbon concrete and biobased building materials. The programming will conclude with a panel on making low-carbon, affordable housing a reality, exploring how incentives, carbon accounting tools, and practical building strategies can help scale housing production without scaling emissions. View the full program here:https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-26/registrationRegister for Reimagine Buildings ’26: The Solutions:https://events.ringcentral.com/events/reimagine-buildings-26/registrationLearn more about the Carbon Leadership Forum:https://carbonleadershipforum.org/Join us on the Reimagine Buildings Collective:https://collective.reimaginebuildings.com/

In this episode of the Passive House Podcast, Ilka Cassidy talks with Jane Sidebottom, 2026 president of Women in HVACR and founder and owner of AMK Consulting. Jane describes the “new collar” women coming into HVAC from waitressing, retail, and nursing, many of them looking for stable pay and schedules that work with raising a family. She shares what employers can do to keep women in the industry, starting with defined career paths and flexibility for caregiving. Diving in to what excites her about where the industry is going, including window heat pumps that make electrification workable in low-income housing, and how listeners can get involved with Women in HVACR.https://www.womeninhvacr.org/https://www.amkconsultinggroup.com/Join us on the Reimagine Buildings Collective: https://collective.reimaginebuildings.com/Thank you for listening to the Passive House Podcast! To learn more about Passive House and to stay abreast of our latest programming, visit passivehouseaccelerator.com.