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Positive Energy

@bldgscienceatx

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Human-centered MEP engineering & building science for custom homes. Healthy, comfortable, resilient spaces that elevate everyday life.

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Positive Energy is pleased to announce that M. Walker has been appointed Managing Principal of the firm.

In this role, he will be responsible for Positive Energy’s firm-wide direction, organizational health, and commercial performance. He will coordinate the firm’s leadership team and connect our market position, project pipeline, operating capacity, technical standards, and commitments to our clients and staff.

His work at Positive Energy has long crossed the boundaries between business development, client relationships, project strategy, operations, engineering, and organizational planning. Over the past 13 years, he has helped the firm pursue work suited to our technical strengths, build lasting relationships with brilliant architects and collaborators, and connect ambitious design goals with the practical conditions required to deliver them well.

As Managing Principal, he will coordinate priorities among our engineering, operations, finance, and business-development leaders. He will remain accountable for turning the firm’s direction into decisions and commitments that are ethically grounded, technically excellent, and commercially responsible.

Positive Energy’s work has always depended on close relationships among people, buildings, technical systems, and the environments in which they operate. This move strengthens the structure supporting those relationships and gives the firm a clear point of leadership as we continue to grow, deepen our technical practice, and pursue work that will still matter hundreds of years from now. taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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2 months ago

Positive Energy is currently seeking a Senior MEP Systems Engineer to support projects in our residential MEP design department. Positive Energy is a unique firm, dedicated to transforming the way buildings are designed. Everything we do is rooted in progressive engineering principles to support human thriving. As a small business, our success depends on every single employee’s contributions. This position offers the opportunity to do cutting edge work for a growing company in a strong market position with an eye on the future. If you’re someone who shares our passion for building science, progressive engineering and industry transformation, please get in touch. taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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a year ago

We’re Diane and Kristof Irwin, both owners and principals of a niche residential MEP engineering and building science consulting company called Positive Energy @bldgscienceatx in Austin, TX. Prior to starting our innovative little firm, we both had careers in policy and research engineering, respectively, only later finding ourselves with a thirst for doing something meaningful with our own two hands. That’s when we decided to start building houses in Austin, TX and we started a company called Blue Heron Builders.

As many do, we cut our teeth learning on the job, but time and time again we found ourselves asking in moments of frustration “why do people build houses so badly?” That’s when our education in building science began. Not only did we build houses, we dived straight into the weird world of diagnostic performance testing and offered forensic building science consulting to architects and builders all over central Texas.

This was the foundation that Positive Energy was born from. We moved in the direction of MEP engineering because we realized we’d spent a lot of time chasing problems instead of preventing them to begin with. It became so clear that better designs and better project team collaborations lead to better outcomes.

And now that Positive Energy has become a nationally recognized firm doing some of the most progressive and interesting projects in North America, it’s time for our family to get back to building, only this time it’s a house for us to live in and enjoy.

The concept of Spring Street Passive House is centered on and designed around ideals that we’ve made central to our work at Positive Energy: healthy indoor spaces, a durable/efficient building envelope, low energy use, and immaculate thermal comfort designed for the way our bodies experience thermal environments. We are so excited to share this journey with you and deeply appreciate you following along. taken in Columbia River Gorge by @bldgscienceatx

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a year ago

New team portraits.

Big thanks to @ventana_media for making us look so good. taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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a year ago

We wrapped our bi-annual working retreat in Austin and it was such a wonderful experience. We focused on improving how we use our design tools, deepening our support systems for one another, expanding our technical expertise, and solidifying our plan to achieve the company’s vision/mission. It’s so refreshing to have our whole team in the same place at the same time for some intensive workshops. We also eat very well 🙃 taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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a year ago

Positive Energy is thrilled to announce a groundbreaking innovation in building science: BioBarrier insulation. After 7 years of dedicated research and development, we’ve achieved a minor technological marvel, utilizing the byproducts of sewage purification (patent pending) to create an insulation product unlike any other on the market.

BioBarrier boasts an impressive R-value of 10.5 per inch, rivaling even aerogel. And, to address any potential concerns, we can definitively state that BioBarrier is completely odor-neutral. In fact, our rigorous testing has shown absolutely no discernible aroma. None at all.

But BioBarrier is more than just a high-performance insulator. It’s a living, breathing odor-free material. Unlike traditional insulation, BioBarrier doesn’t just trap air – it actively ferments, generating and releasing microscopic air bubbles within its unique brownbody matrix. This process means its insulating capacity increases over time, providing ever-greater protections from heat transfer through your wall assembly.

In an exciting joint venture with the good folks at Cologuard, we’re taking indoor environmental quality to the next level. Early adopters of BioBarrier can submit their own samples, as well as samples from their family members, to customize the insulation’s microbiome specificity, creating a truly harmonious indoor environment. Imagine, an insulation that works in tandem with your own personal microbiome!

Furthermore, we understand the challenges faced by pet-owning families and the concerns they may have of contamination. To ensure the longevity and effectiveness of BioBarrier, we’ve developed a revolutionary demand-based ventilation sensor. This sensor, compatible with all ERVs, detects pet-emitted bio-odors at extremely low concentrations, automatically triggering a ventilation boost to prevent any potential contamination. Rest assured, BioBarrier is designed to thrive in your home, even with your furry companions, no matter how stinky they may be. taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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2 years ago

Submitted for your consideration, 2 gingerbread wall assembly mock ups and 1 fully constructed off grid passive house. taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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3 years ago

We are pleased to share a number of our own project collaborations which have just been announced as winners of the Texas Society of Architects’ 2022 Design Awards.

This year's jurors were Monica Chadha, AIA, of Civic Projects in Chicago; Paul Danna, FAIA, of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Los Angeles; Jeff Goldstein, FAIA, of Digsau in Philadelphia; and Claire Weisz, FAIA, of WXY Studios in New York City.

All of the winning designs will be featured in the September/October issue of Texas Architect magazine.

Here are three of our favorites. They were an absolute blast to work on.

1. Theresa Passive House with @forgexcraft @studioferme and @hughjeffersonrandolpharchitect 📷: @caseycdunn

2. Marfa Ranch with @lakeflato 📷: James Steinkamp

3. Five Yard House with @miroriveraarch 📷: Paul Finkel taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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4 years ago

The Humid Climate Conference is back!

The Passive House Austin committee was nearly to the finish line with conference planning in 2020 when the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic shut down the world. The world has undoubtedly changed forever since that fateful spring and we believe that the purpose of our conference is more important than ever. So it’s time to re-boot our efforts!

The Humid Climate Conference itself was born in Austin, TX 2016 as a confluence of empowerment and education for architects, builders, engineers, and trades to bring Passive House projects to life. Now this premier conference focused on high-performance buildings in the south has survived the ongoing pandemic and is making it's reappearance May 2-3, 2022 (with some special tours offered on May 1st). Passive House Austin is thrilled to invite you back to Texas to listen, learn and network with industry thought leaders, boots-on-the-ground overachievers, and a fantastic mix of manufacturer sponsors. The rockstar list of speakers for the event include Dr. John Straube (RDH Labs), Christine Williamson (Building Science Fight Club), Bruce King (New Carbon Architecture), and Zack Semke (Passive House Accelerator), and more to be announced soon. Dr. Jonathan Bean will once again be our host and MC. Site tours of passive buildings (on May 1st) and an Austin-style after partayyyyy are also part of this incredible event.

We’re anticipating attendees from Houston, Austin, Dallas, New Orleans, Florida, Atlanta, Japan, and will have a streaming-only ticket available for those unable to travel. We’re also taking extra precautions and monitoring COVID closely. Should the conference format need to change, we will keep you informed as early as possible.

Come build community with us at the Austin Central Library this spring! Link in bio. taken in Austin Central Library, Austin Public Library by @bldgscienceatx

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5 years ago

Last weekend Kristof spoke at the 3rd annual @hempbuildingsummit on the topic of indoor air quality and the relationship and nuances of IAQ in spaces that leverage natural building materials. Organizations like @ushempbuildingassociation are doing great work to elevate the topic of, and accelerate the normalization of, industrial hemp building materials in a national market saturated with fossil-fuel-centric products.

Our firm has been fortunate to work on several world-class projects using hempcrete, hemp insulation, and natural lime plasters. These are not homes that carry the “low-brow” connotation that natural building materials have unfairly been assigned and which have historically scared architects away from integrating them into their design palettes. These are remarkable feats of architecture and engineering that are paving the way for other ambitious players in our local market. Beauty and impact are synonymous. We do our planet and our architectural work profound harm when we artificially distinguish between the two outcomes.

There has never been a more important time to re-evaluate what project norms are in the construction industry as the globe rapidly endeavors to electrify, decarbonize, and engage in more thoughtful decision-making processes with regard to energy impacts. It’s time to start rethinking your own materials. No time to lose. Don’t miss the summit next year. We’ll see you there.

📸: @hempbuildingsummit

#hemp #hempconstruction #naturalbuildingmaterials #buildingscience #architecture #construction #engineering #indoorairquality #iaq #hbsatx by @bldgscienceatx

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5 years ago

Energy With Memory

The famous astronomer and educator Carl Sagan once said, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch you must first invent the universe.” What Sagan was pointing at is the fact that for us to really do anything from scratch, we have to understand the system in which we exist.

The planet and all its inhabitants exists as a massive, complex system of interconnected systems that we don’t always see. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown us that public health is part of a global web, inextricably linked. On a smaller scale, the materials and energy that we use to build and operate our homes and cities rely on these natural interconnected ecosystems. Effortlessly spanning scales from the level of the planet, a vast forest or a single home, the science of Systems Ecology provides a powerful perspective and valuable set of tools that can inform skillful design and construction practices for homes, buildings and cities.

How do natural ecosystems provide us with all that we need for our lives, homes and cities? What are the basic ingredients that are “cooked” in this recipe? Join Kristof as he interviews Miaomiao Hou and Dr. Bill Braham for a fast and furious dive into the infinite complexity of emergy. You’ll never be able to un-hear this. We will unpack some of the terms and concepts needed to unlock this powerful, versatile, quantitative way to understand what matters most when it comes to resources and energy, and why. Along the way we will learn about energy that remembers where it comes from and the layers of transformations it goes through along the way to us, so we can make better decisions on how to use it wisely.

Listen via the link in our bio.

#buildingscience #construction #architecture #energy #emergy #systems #science #systemsthinking taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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5 years ago

Keep 👏 It 👏 Dry 👏!

Do we really need dehumidifiers if we’ve got VRF units? How do dehumidifiers even work? Why do we need dehumidifiers now when we’ve never had them before? Do tight houses stay dry enough to not need dehumidifiers? Are longer HVAC run-times a better option to keep a space dry? These are valid questions that deserve scientific answers and we’re here to dig in. Let’s see what the data tell us.   Join Kristof as he interviews David Treleven and Nikki Krueger of Madison Indoor Air Quality (makers of dehumidifiers, ERVs, and many other innovative indoor air quality products).

Listen via the link in our bio.

#HVAC #buildingscience #dehumidifier #construction #architecture #humidity #indoorairquality #physics taken in Positive Energy by @bldgscienceatx

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5 years ago