Mitsubishi Electric has renewed its sponsorship with Passive House Alliance - United States (PHA-US), a nonprofit organization created to support the Passive House Building Energy Standard. Mitsubishi Electric is the only cooling and heating manufacturer to sponsor PHA-US. The company first joined PHA-US as a Green level sponsor in 2012 and has extended its commitment as a Silver level sponsor in 2013. Mitsubishi Electric will continue to support the mission of PHA-US to make the Passive House Standard the leading building industry market force.
“Since first introducing ductless technology to the U.S. market more than 30 years ago, Mitsubishi Electric has consistently been at the forefront of sustainable building trends,” says Mark Kuntz, vice president of marketing & engineered solutions, Mitsubishi Electric US Cooling & Heating Division. “Mitsubishi Electric products are energy-efficient and ideal for houses designed to attain Passive House certification. Sponsoring PHA-US and its sustainable initiatives is a natural fit for us.”
As part of its renewed sponsorship, Mitsubishi Electric will continue to support local training sessions, connect building professionals and consumers with energy-efficient products, promote and consult on Passive House product development, and support efforts to lobby government agencies and revise building codes. These ventures will foster the overarching goal of the association to expand the community of Passive House designers and practitioners.
A Passive House is a very well-insulated, virtually airtight building that uses systems with critical receptivity and retention capacities to capture and efficiently apply energy from natural resources. These systems minimize the building’s energy loss and greatly reduce its energy consumption. The stringent Passive House Building Energy Standard requires a project to achieve an 80% reduction in total energy use and a 90% reduction in heating energy compared to conventional equivalent buildings. Operating at some of the lowest Btu/h capacities in the industry, Mitsubishi Electric ductless systems provide only the exact amount of energy needed to reach a zone’s set temperature, satisfying a building’s cooling and heating capacity without overpowering it. Because cooling and heating make up nearly half of a building’s total energy use, energy-efficient mechanical systems like those from Mitsubishi Electric are integral to achieving Passive House certification.