About
Passive House Minnesota (PHMN) is a group of Minnesota-based Passive House professionals, practitioners and supporters who educate about and promote the Passive House Institute’s international Passive House building energy standard since 2008. We are located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Passive House is widely recognized as the most powerful tool we have today to produce buildings that rise to meet our challenges, forming the cornerstone of climate mitigation and adaptation, public health, and equity impacts.
Passive House Minnesota is a chapter of the Passive House Network (PHN), formerly known as NAPHN, is a high-performance building literacy program. We provide comprehensive, high-quality Passive House education to stakeholders across the building industry – from architects and engineers, to builders and developers, to regulators and policymakers. We demystify the impact of design and construction choices, form knowledge-sharing networks, raise expectations, and transform how professionals fundamentally think and work.
Passive House Minnesota and the Passive House Network are an affiliate of the International Passive House Association (iPHA), a global network of Passive House stakeholders including architects, planners, scientists, suppliers, manufacturers, contractors and property developers. iPHA works to promote the Passive House Standard and foster a greater public understanding of its significance. Encouraging the exchange of Passive House knowledge, iPHA communicates with the media, the general public and the entire range of construction professionals.
History of Passive House Minnesota
Passive House Minnesota was founded by German-born American architectural engineer and certified Passive House Designer Tim Delhey Eian of TE Studio in 2008. Since then, it has supported the building standard in the state of Minnesota, its neighboring states and throughout North America.
Since 2008, Passive House Minnesota has had many members and supporters and changed its format and affiliations a few times. In 2018, ten years after its inception, it found its final home as a chapter of The Passive House Network, a national 501c3.
Minnesota is home to North Americas’ first certified Passive House, the Waldsee BioHaus, designed by North American Passive House pioneer Stephan Tanner in 2005 and completed in 2006. It represents ground zero for the World’s leading building energy standard on the continent.
Design: Stephan Tanner (Intep)
Photo: Cal Rice
Why Are There Two “Passive Houses” in the United States?
Many are confused about how or why PHI and PHIUS are both promoting “Passive House” but do it separately. PHN’s short description aims to help clarify the situation while answering some basic questions.