Become a Certified Passive House Tradesperson

Learn to build energy-efficient, comfortable, fully controllable houses – for any climate.

Home|Passive House courses for Tradespeople

About this certification

The Passive House movement is rapidly changing the way Australians construct homes and commercial buildings. Smart Plus Academy’s Complete Passive House Tradesperson Certification Package is designed for builders and trades professionals who want to take part in this construction revolution while doing their bit to help fight climate change.

This certification is aimed at people working in the construction sector, including builders, site supervisors, carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, window installers and thermal insulation installers. It provides students with a comprehensive knowledge of how to construct high-performance buildings, nearly Zero Energy Buildings and the Passive House approach. Sign up for the Complete Passive House Tradesperson Certification Package to purchase all the courses required for certification.

The Smart Plus Academy is Australia’s leading provider of Passive House education and founder Daniel Kress has helped to educate more than half the certified Professionals in the field in Australia.

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The Complete Passive House Tradesperson Certification Package

Smart Plus Academy’s Certification Package is designed to help you gain internationally recognised accreditation through the Passive House Institute – Passive House’s world governing body. It also provides you with a solid foundation for building comfortable, energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings.

We’re so confident that the package will help you achieve Passive House certification that we offer a certification guarantee. If you don’t pass the exam after three attempts, we will take that as a failure on our part and refund your exam fee. (Note that conditions apply and the guarantee applies only to students who have completed The Complete Passive House Tradesperson Certification Package, not individual components.)

Smart Plus Academy
Complete Passive House Tradesperson Certification Package

Attain complete mastery of Passive House construction with all the courses and exams needed to achieve certification in one package. Includes a certification guarantee.

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PaLaMa Pre-Course for TRADESPEOPLE

Gain an understanding of the terminology of Passive House and the key mathematical principles behind the movement.

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Certified Passive House Tradesperson Course

Learn the principles of Passive House and how to apply them to your building and construction projects in any climate zone. Gain the knowledge necessary to achieve certification.

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Passive House Tradesperson Exam Prep Course

Strengthen your knowledge and give yourself the best possible chance of passing the certification exam with this preparatory course.

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Passive House Tradesperson Exam

Complete your Passive House journey and achieve certification by sitting the final exam. Available face-to-face or remotely online.

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Teachers

Daniel Kress

Daniel started his career in the construction sector as a carpenter employed on sites in his native Germany. He next worked in Ireland on what was then the world’s biggest modular residential project. After 10 years on the trades side of building, Daniel completed a Master of Civil Engineering and worked as a researcher on EU sustainable building projects.

Daniel has been based in Australia since 2015, and in 2017 he founded the Smart Plus Academy. His vision is to help build a more sustainable construction sector and to promote dwellings that are comfortable and liveable while using minimal energy.

Daniel is a Certified Passive House trainer and through his work at the Smart Plus Academy and other institutions has helped train more than 50 per cent of the certified Passive House professionals in Australia today. Daniel’s philosophy is to “inspire and lead with passion and love” and “to contribute to society through teaching that inspires growth”.

Julia Kiefer

After studying architecture in her native Germany, Julia moved to Australia in 2006. She then worked for leading architectural practices in Melbourne, Perth and Darwin, along the way gaining an understanding of Australia’s different geographic zones and the extremes of its climate.

Deeply passionate about sustainability and energy-efficient building design, Julia graduated as a Certified Passive House Designer in 2018. She has since made it her mission to bring about change in the building sector and to educate Australians about comfortable, healthy and sustainable living spaces.

In 2020, Julia joined Smart Plus Academy as assistant Passive House trainer. She now educates building professionals across Australia about the Passive House standard.

Course details

Prerequisites

This certification is for anybody interested or involved in the construction process wishing to gain Passive House certification. The teaching and course work involved are at a level roughly equivalent to high school or a trades course. There are no academic prerequisites, but potential students should be self-motivated.

Materials Required for class

This course is conducted remotely with students participating and accessing study materials via the internet. It is the responsibility of students to ensure they have an adequate data connection. Speeds of 3 MBPS are required for the online course and 16 MBPS are required for the final online exam. Students need to supply their own PC or Mac computer. Other materials required include: a scientific calculator and black A4 two-ring binders.

It is recommended that students have coloured pens, post-it notes, and web camera and microphone capabilities in their device.

Materials provided for class

In addition to having access to live sessions, students will be given access to session recordings in which Academy founder Daniel Kress and Julia Kiefer explain Passive House principles and answers questions. Students can watch and re-watch these as required, at a time that suits them. The slides used in the course will be provided as a printed workbook, with free delivery available across Australia. Handouts and exercises are provided in a downloadable PDF format to allow students to print and complete them multiple times if desired. Both workbooks and printed handouts will be required for the final exam.

Is this course for you?

This course is intended for anyone involved in the construction sector, including but not limited to builders, site supervisors, carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, window installers and thermal insulation installers.

Access

Live access with teachers present, the four full-day tradesperson course, including the Passive House basics, the thermal envelope specification and the building envelope specialisation and the exam.

The Complete Passive House Tradesperson Certification Package
Students are further supported via pre-recorded and printed materials including session recordings, webinars, online introductory courses, downloadable homework exercises and mock exams.

Your Journey with us

Our approach to Passive House education involves

supporting students before, during and after their studies

and ensuring each individual proceeds at a pace that is right for them.

Here’s how your Passive House journey might take shape:

Reach out

Are you keen to learn more about the options available for Passive House study? Or maybe simply to learn more about the movement and its principles? Reach out and register with us so we can answer all your questions. If you like you can make an appointment to speak to one of the team.

Register your interest

Book your Certification Package

Once you have decided to begin your Passive House certification journey, the next step is to book a course date that works for you. The SPA team will provide the support you need, including arranging your exam dates and providing you with immediate access to online resources.

Book your Certification Package

Enjoy pre-course access

The learning begins as soon as you commit to undertaking a course. Once you have paid your deposit, you will be given immediate access to the Smart Plus Academy learning centre, an online database. Watch a webinar or take an introductory course to put yourself in the best possible position to benefit from your course.

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Complete the ‘Passive House Language and Mathematics’ (PaLaMa) pre-course

Mastering any new field of knowledge means coming to terms with new concepts and terminology. The PaLaMa pre-course aims to familiarise you with a variety of Passive House terms and key mathematical principles.

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Complete the certification course

Learn the principles of Passive House and how to apply them to projects in any climate zone through our intensive four-day certification course. We make the process as easy as possible by providing practical tools and practice exercises. More than 95 percent of our students pass the certification exam set by the Passive House Institute, the international governing body for Passive House.

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Prepare for your exam

It can be hard to know what to focus on when preparing for an exam. Smart Plus Academy makes subject review easy with a preparatory course that helps you identify the key areas of knowledge that will be tested in the exam – and ensures you understand them. It’s one of the reasons we have helped hundreds of people to achieve certification.

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Sit the exam

The certification exam is difficult, and you will need to work hard to pass. Smart Plus Academy helps by ensuring you have the tools needed to pass, including our handy Passive House formula sheet. We pride ourselves on the standard of our education. If you fail to pass the certification exam after three attempts, we will refund your exam fee. Terms and conditions apply.

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Join the Smart Plus Community

The Passive House movement is gaining enormous traction in Australia. As you put your new skills into practice by building sustainable, energy-efficient dwellings you will find yourself supported by the wider Passive House community. Meet up with other graduates to share experiences and collaborate on projects.

Join the Smart Plus community

Continue your education

The most inspiring construction professionals are those who remain hungry for knowledge throughout their careers. Now that you are certified, continue your Passive House education with our other courses and study options. Maybe you even want to consider becoming a certified Passive House designer?

Become a certified designer

Smart Plus Academy:
Australia’s leading provider of Passive House education
The best sustainability course for the building industry.

Knowledgeable teachers that inspire and engage with local knowledge in live online sessions

Certification guarantee and Australia’s highest first attempt pass rate

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Businesses supported with advice and certification
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Happy Passive House professionals trained
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Certification pass rate on first attempt
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What our students say

EXCELLENT Based on 48 reviews.
Aaron Anstis
Aaron Anstis
2022-05-26
Verified
Training and trainers were fantastic. The content is relevant and trainers deliver it very well. Lots of time for questions and interaction to assist with learning. Thanks so much to the entire Smart Plus Academy team!
Jeremiah Appleby
Jeremiah Appleby
2022-04-08
Verified
I’m so happy I completed the designer course with Smart Plus. The trainers and support staff were excellent. Students were kept on track with regular communications and any queries were addressed promptly. I highly recommend training with Smart Plus.
Tess S
Tess S
2022-04-07
Verified
I had such a wonderful experience and felt completely supported every step of the way during the course. Highly recommend if you're looking to become a Certified Passive House Designer!
Pablo Shopen
Pablo Shopen
2022-04-06
Verified
A comprehensive and challenging course providing a very strong foundation for your passive house journey. Julia and Daniel are knowledgeable, inspirational and understanding teachers who are very good at explaining complex topics and condensing the huge volume of information. I would highly recommend this wonderful course.
Sri R
Sri R
2022-04-06
Verified
Daniel Kress brings this amazing energy to class, seeing how passionate he is and his belief in passive house has motivated me all the more! The passive house designer course is very well curated to the T, they have left no stone unturned and ensured they detailed every aspect keeping in mind that learners from various levels of experience undertake this course. As a sustainability graduate with very little industry experience I found it rather easy to navigate through the course because of their systematic approach.They provide you with all the required study materials and their 6-day online course delivered by Julia gives you a complete walkthrough of all conceps. Julia and the support team are very helpful whenever you need assistance in any way! It's been an honour to undertake this course with SPA and I couldn't recommend it more! To anyone looking to start their Passive house journey, THIS IS THE PLACE TO COME!
Stuart McKenzie Hall
Stuart McKenzie Hall
2022-01-12
Verified
Excellent, detailed and thorough course, well presented perfect for a serious step in improving your Passive House Designer journey and obtaining a valuable qualification. Highly recommended.
sam foutoulis
sam foutoulis
2021-11-24
Verified
Great course tought by a passionate experienced team!
Madhu Priya
Madhu Priya
2021-10-13
Verified
I can say with utmost confidence that I made the best use of the Sydney lockdown by enrolling myself in the Passive House Designer course by the Smart Plus Academy. Initially I was a bit skeptical about undertaking the course since I had just completed my Masters degree and had no prior industrial experience in this field and hence was not sure if I will be able to understand the concepts. But the course material was designed in such a way that it explained in great detail about every aspect of Passive House design. The effort put in by Daniel and Julia in delivering the concepts and engaging with the students through the homework tasks and exercises ensured a great level of understanding. The support team was also very prompt in answering our queries. Clearing the final exam was a cake walk with the level of preparation that we were put through. Overall, it was a very knowledgeable experience and I highly recommend this course for those who aspire to bring about a positive change in the built environment.
Wei-Chih Lin
Wei-Chih Lin
2021-10-09
Verified
I enrolled in the Certified Passive House Designer Course and I highly recommend the course. The course tutors Daniel and Julia, and the team were very helpful, professional, and knowledgable.
Nick J
Nick J
2021-10-06
Verified
Good course and content in preparation for examination. Supportive team prior to enrolling to discuss course suitability for my needs.

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How it works

1. Book The Complete Passive Tradesperson Certification Package

2. Arrange your dates with the SPA team

3. Complete the course

4. Lead your industry

Save on your course fees and receive a certification guarantee by booking The Complete Passive House Tradesperson Certification Package now.

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