Life Cycle Operating Carbon Impact of a Standardized Passive House in Various Canadian Climates

Abstract

Over the past 10 years in Europe and North America, passive house standards have become the leading high-performance building standards. Although site energy metrics are paramount in these standards, the roots are in reducing carbon emissions. This article describes the influence that using regional, rather than broad (i.e., continent-wide), energy supply carbon emission factors can have on the life cycle operating carbon emission outcome for single-family dwellings designed according to a passive house standard for three climatic locations across Canada, using two mechanical systems with different fuels. All three cities significantly differ when using regional carbon emissions factors, compared with a broad average. Recommendations are made to generate a hybrid carbon intensity factor balancing national and regional electrical grid carbon intensities. As the passive house standards become more and more mainstream paths to reducing the carbon impact of buildings, understanding the differences between emissions factors becomes increasingly important.