Passive Progressive: A look at Passive House adoption and the need to accelerate

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In the past 15 years Passive House in the United States has evolved from a niche pursuit of the energy-conscious architectural Avant Garde to being a set piece in a popular Showtime series (“The Curse”) starring two-time Oscar-winner Emma Stone. Along the journey into the popular consciousness, Passive House organizations have successfully certified hundreds of buildings across the country, from single family homes and low-rise multi-family buildings to office buildings and high-rises. Now in 2025, the standard is becoming synonymous with high-performance building and is referenced in codes and climate policies in many of the nation’s most progressive jurisdictions. As exciting as Passive House’s growing popularity may be, advocates have had a challenging time expanding to certain market sectors and regions. Given the proven energy benefits of Passive House, accelerating the adoption of this standard and the high-performance strategies embedded within it is a necessary step if we intend to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Recent federal efforts to rollback investment in the renewable energy sector has made it more critical than ever that we focus on reducing building energy demand through practical application of building science.