Passive House Designer / Consultant Exam

Gaining your certification

The exam is not the only way to gain certification as a Passive House designer or consultant. You have two options:

Pass the international written exam provided by Smart Plus Academy (SPA).
Germany’s Passive House Institute provides us with all the examination documents and files. Once you have sat the exam, SPA will conduct an initial assessment and then send your paper to the Passive House Institute. The Institute then carries out the final marking ahead of issuing certification to those who have passed.

or

Design a certified Passive House (NOT offered by SPA)
(See details under renewing certification)

Renewing your certification

To remain certified as a Passive House designer or consultant your certification must be renewed after the first five years and then again every two years. You can do this in two ways:

Earn further education credit points
Not every graduate is actively involved in Passive House projects and able to present evidence of this work. It is possible to renewing your certification by instead teaching Passive House courses and attending related events and advanced training.

or

Design a certified Passive House (NOT offered by SPA)
You can renew your certification by documenting a certified Passive House, EnerPHit retrofit or PHI Low Energy Building where you exercised full responsibility for the building design and the project planning with the PHPP. Project documentation can be used to earn or renew the certificate for one person per building.

The difference between ‘designer’ and ‘consultant’

Certified Passive House ‘designers’ and ‘consultants’ both receive identical educations and their qualifications have equal weight within the Passive House Institute. The different titles reflect the type of education a graduate has previously undertaken. In short, a graduate with a university degree related to the building industry is referred to as a designer and those without such a degree are referred to as consultants.

Establishing which group an applicant belongs to is not always easy, given the diverse educational qualifications, professions and the legal provisions relating to buildings worldwide. For this reason, the Passive House Institute has specified two possible methods for obtaining certification as a Certified Passive House Designer. These are:

• Providing proof of an educational qualification which enables you to plan buildings or technical building systems independently. This educational qualification should have reached a certain level (e.g. diploma or bachelor degree) and have been attained in a specialised subject which primarily involves the planning of buildings or building services systems.
• Providing proof of membership in an institution, whose members are entitled to provide planning services which are subject to approval by a building authority (e.g. Chamber of Architects).

You qualify for the Designer title if you have the following educational qualification:

• Architect, building designer or interior designer
• Civil, timber, structure mechanical or construction engineer
• Building physicist
• Building and energy technology engineer
• Master carpenter or builders licence
• Certified technician for structural engineering, building construction, heating plumbing and ventilation technology or supply technology

Please provide evidence of having achieved any of the above qualifications when you register for the exam.

Course details

Teachers