Academy Background

The Passive House Academy was established by Tomas O’Leary and Art McCormack who have been active in the Passive House arena for almost a decade. The Academy has a dedicated team of six full time specialist trainers who have earned a strong reputation for delivering highly stimulating training. This team is also heavily involved in the design, detailing and official Certification of Passive House projects, so their teaching is very much informed by on-the-ground practice. With training headquarters in both Europe and the US, the Academy provides an international flair to its training. Below, further details are provided on the topics of:

• Accreditation;
• Exam Preparation;
• Innovation; and
• Practical insights.

Accreditation

The Academy and its Directors have achieved the following accreditation:

• Accredited by the Passivhaus Institut to provide a global Passive House Certification service (currently active on several projects both in Europe as well as the US);
• Accredited by the Passivhaus Institut to provide training globally on the Passive House Consultant courses, as well as to host exams and complete the first exam correction;
• Accredited by local professional associations and bodies, such as the American Institute of Architects as well as the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland.
• Accredited by local funding and support bodies, such as NYSERDA in NYC and CITA in Europe, helping to reduce the cost of training for participants.

Exam Preparation

One of the primary reasons for participating in the Passive House Consultants training course is to take and pass the challenging exam to achieve Consultant or Designer status. The Academy prides itself on providing excellent preparation for the exam, as follows:

• Irrespective of where in the world you take the Consultant training (whether NYC or Dublin), the exam paper is set by the German Passivhaus Institut. The exam paper is presented in Metric (SI units). Examinees in the US will also be given in Inch-Pound (IP) units in brackets for orientation purposes.
• The German Institut also completes the second correction of all exam papers, and it is they that ultimately award the qualification of Passive House Consultant or Designer.
• The extensive and well illustrated course material used by the Academy (over 1,000 pages of notes) is specifically geared towards the exam, and is delivered in Metric (SI units) in Europe. In the US, as with exam, Inch-Pound (IP units) will also be given as a reference point to local methods.
• In 2010 alone, the Academy proudly prepared 80 successful graduates to pass the Consultant exam.
• Scheduling courses to coincide with the dates for the exam has proven in Europe to have an influence on the pass rate. For that reason, the Academy aims to deliver Participants two or three weeks ahead of the exam, while the material is still fresh in their minds. There is always a long gap between the summer exam (11th June in 2011) and that held in autumn (29th October), so course scheduling can be critical.
• Many Participants initially find the energy balance calculation part of the course quite challenging. The Academy has thus developed several simple and practical case study exercises that embed the concepts and hugely help in terms of exam prep.
• While there is only one official sample exam paper issued by the Passivhaus Institut, the Academy has prepared excellent exam preparation guides and sample questions (provided free of charge). Practicing with such material is invaluable.
• Lastly, a number of simulated exam scenarios are held towards the end of the course to give an impression of what the experience will be like on-the-day. For example, Participants are given 45 minutes in class to design a Passive House, typically a core part of the exam.

Innovation

The Academy continues to expand the range of courses it offers in the Passive House arena, including the following:

• Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) – over 300 Participants trained in the two day course in this essential design tool (delivered in both the US (IP units) and European versions of the software (metric)).
• Thermal Bridge Detailing – calculation of thermal bridges is an essential part of providing a professional service in Passive House design. Learning how to use the different software to calculate such details is, however, outside the scope of the eight-day Consultant course. In response to this, the Academy offers a dedicated course on thermal bridge calculations.
• Passive House Contractors Course – in 2011, the Academy commenced the preparation and delivery of two dedicated Passive House construction courses for contractors, one focused on the thermal envelope, the other on mechanical systems. These courses dovetail perfectly with the Consultant courses and will greatly help to achieve the Passive House standard on-site. 

Practical Insights

Training at the Passive House Academy is greatly informed by real-world practical insights and experiences as illustrated below:

• Academy Co-Founder Tomas O’Leary built one of the first Certified Passive Houses in the English speaking world. His family home, Tomas has been living the Passive House dream since 2004.
• As part of the Consultant courses in both the US and Europe, local Passive House contractors (typically window, airtightness and mechanical specialists) contribute towards the Participants’ experience through interactive question and answer sessions. These contractors provide an invaluable practical insight into avoiding typical pitfalls in Passive House construction. For courses in the US, specialist contractors involved in cooling and dehumidification of Passive House projects are especially critical.
• The Consultant courses also typically involve a visit to a local Passive House project, either completed and lived-in, or one under construction. These visits provide a deep insight into the challenges of achieving the Passive House standard and help to bring together the theoretical concepts learned in-class.
• Academy staff are actively involved in the design, detailing and and Certification of a broad range of Passive House projects (new build residential, retrofit residential, as well as non-domestic including schools and offices) on both sides of the Atlantic and bring this invaluable real-world insight to the courses.  

Tomás O’Leary

Tomás developed a keen interest in Passive House in 2002, culminating in building and living in a Certified Passive House since 2004.
Tomás is the Principal Trainer and a co-founder of the Passive House Academy, an accredited Certified Passive House Course Provider and Trainer and a Director of MosArt Architects. He trained over 150 persons in 2010 in the Certified Passive House Consultants course as well as 200 persons in PHPP. He is also accredited by the Passivhaus Institut to certify Passive House projects,

Tomás co-authored the Government new-build Passive House Guidelines and drafted Retrofit Passive House Guidelines as well as Non-Domestic Passive House Guidelines.

Tomás has extensive and practical knowledge of the Passive House standard and looks forward to sharing his experiences with all course Participants. His enthusiasm for Passive House is infectious!

Art McCormack

Art is a Director and Chief Architect of MosArt Architects.  His interest in sustainable design began in the late 1980's and has culminated in a focus on the Passive House standards and building techniques. Over recent years he has played a central role in the practice in producing architectural design to this standard, involving primarily residential, but also mixed use, development.

Art participated in the first English language based Certified Passive House Designers course run provided by Strathclyde University. He has also embraced the adaptation of the Passive House standard to the retrofitting of existing buildings, including participation in the Retrofit for the Future programme concerning social housing, as well as to the broader urban scale, involving his training and practice as an urban designer.

One of Art’s roles in the Certified Passive House Designer course is to train the Participants in the Passive House case study design exercises.

Michael McCarthy

Michael is an Environmental Engineer and joined the Passive House Academy in 2010. He is a qualified Trainer and has extensive experience in delivering training to building practitioners and tradesmen as part of the Labour Market Activation Fund.

Jill Noctor

Jill is a Senior Architectural Technologist working at the Academy and MosArt Architects since 2005. Her expertise includes development of Passive House construction details for both new-build as well as retrofit projects. She managed a Passive House retrofit project for a red-brick single family residence as well as several new-build dwellings of different construction types.

Jill contributes towards the section of the Certified Passive House course concerning Tendering, Quality Assurance, Construction Detailing as well as Site Inspections. Her practical and technical experience combines well with the theoretical and building physics elements of the training.      

Robert Ryan

Robert (Bob) is a Technician working with the Academy and MosArt Architects since 2005. He has actively worked on the Certification of several Passive House projects, and has an excellent working knowledge of the PHPP software.

Bob has assisted in the delivery of PHPP training to over 100 Participants and also delivers training in thermal bridge calculations as part of the Passive House consultants course. Bob’s expertise in thermal bridging has involved preparing Passive House construction details for a variety of construction types, including window and threshold fitting details for a leading Passive House window manufacturer.   

Mariana Moreira

Mariana is an Architect and has been actively working with the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) since 2005 on a variety of projects both at design stage and during construction. She has participated in several Passive House training courses and works closely with Tomás O’Leary on Certification of Passive House projects.

Mariana is a qualified Building Energy Rating (BER) adviser and is undertaking a Masters in Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies from CAT (University of East London).

Dipl.Ing. Franz Freundorfer (Germany, 45):

Franz has been a leader in Passive House training for almost a decade and is very familiar with the construction situation in Ireland. He was involved in the design of Tomas O’Leary’s Passive House in Wicklow and has contributed towards a number of Irish PHPP training sessions. Franz is one of the top European experts in Passive House windows and is responsible for R&D in the window group Optiwin and other window producers. He has developed a strong reputation as a well informed and entertaining trainer. He lives in his own Passive House in Bavaria, with his three children (Maria 20, Johannes 19 and Kathi 16) and his wife Josefa. His home is used as a sample building in the CEPH course.