Design Around People. A Good Building Follows.

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Read more about a range of building science, engineering, and architecture topics on our company blog.

Posts in Wildfire
Introducing The Spring Street Passive House: A Healthy Home Project By Kristof & Diane Irwin

For two decades, our work at Positive Energy has been driven by a single, powerful question: why aren’t buildings created to better support the people inside them? We’ve dedicated our careers to answering that question, moving from hands-on custom home building to the forefront of building science and MEP engineering. Now, we’re bringing that journey full circle by taking on our most personal project yet: our own family home, the Spring Street Passive House.

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Architectural Design, Building Enclosure, Building Science, Dehumidification, Electrification, Embodied Carbon, Environmental Design, Filtration, Healthy Home, Heat Pumps, High Performance Homes, HVAC, Indoor Air Quality, Mechanical Design, Natural Building Material, Passive House, Phius, Plumbing, Solar, Ventilation, WildfirePositive EnergySpring Street Passive House, Resilient Design, Human-Centered Design, Columbia River Gorge, Positive Energy, MEP Engineering, Building Science, Diane Irwin, Kristof Irwin, Blue Heron Builders, Diagnostic Performance Testing, Forensic Building Science, Human and Planetary Thriving, The Building Science Podcast, Passive House Standard, Passivhaus, Fabric-First Approach, Phius Standard, Phius CORE, Phius ZERO, Thermal Control, Continuous Insulation, Thermal Bridge Elimination, Air Control, Airtight Construction, Blower Door Test, Balanced Ventilation, Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV), Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV), Radiation Control, High-Performance Windows, Triple-Glazed Windows, Optimized Solar Gain, Shading, WUFI Passive Software, Moisture Control, Occupant Health, Building Durability, Extreme Winds, Temperature Extremes, Wildfire, Air Quality, Geological Conditions, Soil Conditions, Foam-Free Enclosure, Embodied Carbon, All-Electric Design, Radiant Heating, Radiant Cooling, Air-to-Water Heat Pumps, Net-Zero Energy Building, Rooftop Solar Array, Thermal Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, MERV Filters, Acoustic Comfort, Psychological Security, Environmental Pollutants, Sustainable Housing, Building Decarbonization.
The Invisible Force Holding Our Buildings Back

Why aren't we building as well as we could be? The answer does not lie in a lack of technical knowledge, but in our deeply held beliefs about our place in the world. As the brilliant systems thinker from the MIT Systems Dynamics group, Donella Meadows, teaches us, our "paradigms" or worldviews are our most powerful levers for change.

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A Path for California Architects to Easily Achieve Title 24 and Achieve Beyond-Code Performance

California has long been at the forefront of energy efficiency in the United States compared to its 49 counterparts, with its pioneering Building Energy Efficiency Standards, commonly known as Title 24, Part 6, first adopted in 1976. These standards are not static. They undergo rigorous updates every three years, serving as a dynamic benchmark for building energy performance and a critical mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas emissions during construction and operation. This continuous evolution is a deliberate policy strategy by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to systematically integrate the latest energy-saving technologies and construction practices into the built environment.

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Architectural Design, Building Enclosure, Building Science, Code, Electrification, Embodied Carbon, Heat Pumps, High Performance Homes, HVAC, Mechanical Design, Off-grid, Passive House, Phius, Solar, Wildfire, Title 24Positive EnergyTitle 24, Building Energy Efficiency Standards, California Energy Commission (CEC), net-zero buildings, decarbonization targets, 2022 Energy Code, energy reduction, building science principles, MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) engineering, Title 24 compliance, beyond-code performance, Heat Pumps, Electric-Ready Requirements, Solar PV, Battery Storage, Ventilation Standards, 2025 Title 24 updates, demand flexibility, time-dependent valuation (TDV), mandatory measures, prescriptive approach, performance approach, Energy Design Ratings (EDR), EnergyPro, CBECC, EnergyPlus, climate zones, prescriptive requirements, insulation, fenestration, air sealing, moisture management, Solar Photovoltaic (PV) systems, grid-interactive homes, high-efficiency HVAC systems, smart controls, Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs), Heat Recovery Ventilators (HRVs), water heating, LED lighting, Phius, passive building standard, net-zero building, quality assurance, continuous insulation, thermal bridge-free design, airtightness, high-performance windows and doors, balanced ventilation, passive solar design, internal heat gains, Phius CORE, Phius ZERO, Integrated Design Process (IDP), labor and expertise gaps, permitting and regulatory hurdles, contractor resistance, building science consulting, energy modeling, MEP system design, Code Compliance, Risk Management.
Feldman Architecture and Positive Energy Forge a Path to World Class Architecture 

Feldman Architecture is a distinguished firm based in San Francisco and widely recognized for their creation of warm, light-filled spaces characterized by an understated modern aesthetic. Beyond the visual appeal of their designs, Feldman Architecture is driven by a profound commitment to addressing complex problems through design, aiming to significantly enhance human interaction with the built environment and the planet. This ethos finds a powerful complement in our work here at Positive Energy. We are a specialty MEP engineering and building science firm from Austin, TX, and share with our partners at Feldman Architecture a foundational mission to transform the delivery of conditioned space to society. 

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Architectural Design, Building Science, Electrification, Environmental Design, Healthy Home, High Performance Homes, Indoor Air Quality, Mechanical Design, Natural Building Material, Solar, Wildfire, Embodied Carbon, MEP2040, Architecture 2030Positive EnergyFeldman Architecture, Positive Energy, Santa Lucia Preserve, MEP Design Engineering, Title 24 consulting, sustainable design, architectural excellence, ethical design, building science, Living Building Challenge (LBC), Carbon Budget initiative, high-performance design, regenerative principles, technical expertise, aesthetic expression, contextual design, MEP2040 Challenge, carbon reduction, operational carbon, embodied carbon, electrification, building physics, design decisions, performance metrics, code compliance, aesthetics, emotional resonance, material selection, concrete, structural steel, aluminum, spray foam insulation, mass timber, wood doors and windows, locally sourced stone, low-carbon CMU, Red List avoidance, Curveball project, Fog's Edge project, Cloud's Rest project, Stone's Throw project, Modern Craft project, radical candor, intergenerational transfer of ethos, Climate Studio, Tally, energy modeling, daylighting, photovoltaic (PV) systems, AIA California Climate Action Committees, reach codes, advocacy, talent attraction, job turnover, collaboration, specialized consultants, ecosystem, jazz improvisation, role of architect, design constraints, 2030 Challenge, industry standards, business benefits of sustainability, "role power", human well-being, mental health.
Wildfires, SARS-CoV-2, & Portable Room Air Cleaners

If wildfires are to be a more frequent and intensive aspect of life in the US and future pandemics are not out of the question, how do homeowners start addressing their air quality to improve the safety their homes can provide? We’ve heard from many clients, friends, and family members in wildfire affected areas asking questions like this so we thought it was worthwhile to expand our air quality focus beyond just SARS-CoV-2 and provide some meaningful content that can serve wildfire sufferers as well. Enjoy some applied scientific guidance on the topic of portable room air cleaners (or PRACs).

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