The Passive House (Passivhaus) standard — from the Passive House Institute (PHI) in Darmstadt — is the most demanding envelope-and-services benchmark in buildings, and continuous ventilation with heat recovery is mandatory. This article covers the recovery requirements and how they compare with code minimums. Core Recovery Requirement Metric PHI limit Sensible heat recovery efficiency (HRV/ERV) […]
RESET Air Standard
RESET Air is the world’s first sensor-based, performance-driven indoor-air-quality certification. Its Commercial Interiors v2.0 standard is about continuous monitoring and transparent reporting, not a one-time design check. This article summarizes the monitored parameters and the targets a space must hold. What Gets Monitored RESET requires continuous monitors covering at least 80% of occupants across all […]
WELL Building Standard Ventilation
The WELL Building Standard v2 (IWBI) is a performance standard for occupant health, and ventilation is one of its strongest levers. Where energy codes set a floor for “acceptable” air, WELL rewards going well beyond it. This article covers the Air Concept features most relevant to recovery and ventilation design. Feature A06 — Enhanced Ventilation […]
Circular Economy and Reusable Heat Recovery
Circular Principles for Heat Recovery A circular-economy view treats a heat recovery ventilator as a material bank, not waste. The hierarchy is reuse, then refurbish, then recover, keep exchangers, fans, and controls in service, then recover metals and refrigerants at end of life. Design and Policy Levers Design for disassembly: modular cores, standard fasteners, documented […]
Embodied Carbon of HVAC and Heat Recovery Systems
Embodied vs Operational Carbon in HVAC Whole-building life-cycle assessment per EN 15978 splits carbon into embodied, product, construction, end-of-life, and operational, use. For HVAC, embodied carbon has two big drivers, refrigerant leakage and equipment manufacturing. Refrigerant Leakage Dominates A system lifetime refrigerant emissions are counted as CO2-equivalent using GWP. A leaky R-410A, GWP 2088, or […]
Net-Zero Operational Carbon Buildings: Pathway and Verification
Defining Net-Zero Operational Carbon A net-zero operational carbon building is highly energy efficient and fully powered by renewables, with any remaining operational emissions offset. Frameworks include the World Green Building Council Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, LEED Zero Carbon, and ILFI Zero Carbon. Operational carbon covers Scope 1, on-site combustion, and Scope 2, purchased electricity. […]
EU F-Gas 2024/573: Low-GWP Refrigerants
Regulation (EU) 2024/573 The EU F-Gas Regulation 2024/573 entered into force on 11 March 2024, repealing 517/2014. It drives HFC availability to zero by 2050 through a tightening CO2-equivalent quota schedule, high-GWP refrigerants consume quota faster, pushing the market to low-GWP alternatives. Key Placing-on-Market Bans Equipment Ban Date Single splits under 3 kg GWP 750 […]
GRESB and CSRD: ESG Disclosure for Building Portfolios
CSRD and ESRS for Buildings The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) replaces the NFRD and phases in from FY2024. After the Omnibus simplification, scope is roughly large companies with more than 1,000 employees and more than EUR 450M net turnover, but value-chain pressure pulls in many smaller firms. Reports follow the European Sustainability Reporting […]
WELL v2 Performance Verification for Air and Thermal Comfort
WELL v2 and Performance Verification The WELL Building Standard v2 (IWBI) certifies buildings on a points basis across ten concepts. Unlike a one-time design review, WELL requires Performance Verification, on-site or post-occupancy testing of selected features before certification is awarded and at recertification. What Gets Verified Air (A01 to A09): particulate PM2.5 and PM10, TVOC, […]
IECC 2024: Energy Recovery Ventilation Provisions Explained
IECC 2024 and the Energy Recovery Link The 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) addresses commercial ventilation largely by reference to ASHRAE 62.1-2022. Because 62.1 already requires energy recovery on many large outdoor-air systems, IECC 2024 indirectly tightens ERV expectations, in Climate Zones 4 to 8 an energy recovery ventilator is commonly required where a […]