Passive House buildings keep the people inside safer through wildfire smoke, storms, heat waves, and cold snaps, including when the power goes out. If your community is rebuilding after a disaster, these guides, reports, and stories can help you rebuild better.
New to Passive House? Start with What is Passive House?
On this page: Rebuilding after a disaster · Wildfire · Heat, cold, and power outages · Learn more · Get trained · Why certify
Rebuilding after a disaster
Brief · PHN, 2025
In the aftermath of a climate disaster
Guidance on avoiding misinformation, and next steps: five steps for a smooth rebuild, and why rebuilding with Passive House keeps a community safer.
Guide · PHN, 2025
Homeowner’s insurance and wildfire preparedness
Two pages: your likely coverage options for wildfire, and the steps to take if you need to file a claim.
Report · with UCLA, 2025
Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery
Recommends high-performance building standards such as Passive House for wildfire-prone counties in California, Los Angeles above all.
Flyer · PHN, 2025
Five takeaways from the Blue Ribbon Commission report
The report’s five main points, each with actions you can take and PHN resources to help.
Wildfire
Video · PHN Presents
Passive House and fire resilience
Our free webinar on combining Passive House with fire-resilient building and landscape, with experts from the Passive House community and the National Fire Protection Association.
Flyer · PHN, 2025
Five ways Passive House supports fire resilience
The basics of the Passive House standard, how it helps the planet and fire resilience, and where to go next with PHN.
Videos · PHN Conference 2023
How to rebuild from a wildfire: stories from the Marshall Fire
The Marshall Fire of 2021 destroyed more than 1,000 structures in Boulder County, Colorado. Many designers, builders, and homeowners turned to Passive House to rebuild, and told their stories at the 2023 PHN Conference, free online.
News · Colorado Public Radio, 2022
A climate-friendly house for Marshall Fire survivors
Colorado Public Radio on a Passive House that Andrew Michler designed for families who lost their homes in the fire, and why it isn’t a luxury home.
Heat, cold, and power outages
Report · PHN, 2023
Safe at Home
How all-electric multifamily Passive House buildings deliver comfortable, cost-effective climate resilience, especially where extreme weather is a concern, with their cost compared to conventional buildings.
Blog · PHN, 2025
Passive House and the polar vortex
How a Passive House keeps you safer through dangerous cold when the power goes out.
Blog · PHN, 2024
What it means to be safe at home
In 2024 a severe storm knocked out Houston’s grid in dangerous heat. Passive House is more than comfort and energy savings: it can save lives.
Learn more
- Introduction to Passive House: one hour, free, on demand.
- PHN Presents: our free online talks.
- Passive House reports: our research on policy, codes, and cost.
- Case studies: Passive House projects across North America’s climates.
- Passive House: Active for more comfort: iPHA’s brochure (PDF).
- Building certification guide: PHI’s guide (PDF).
Get trained
Passive House isn’t rocket science. It’s basic building science, applied with intention.
Builders and architects already have most of the skills. Passive House training adds the few that matter most, and the focus and integrated thinking that make high performance reliable. It may well change what you expect a building to do. Don’t build the last 20th-century building: build the future.
Course
Certified Passive House Designer or Consultant (CPHD/C)
PHN’s course for architects, engineers, and consultants, preparing you for PHI’s exam.
Course
Certified Passive House Tradesperson (CPHT)
For builders, trades, and construction managers, delivered with Emu Passive, preparing you for PHI’s exam.
Why certify
Certification can open the door to financial incentives, and incentives often drive certification. But its value reaches well past the transaction: a certified building is a better building, made by a better team.
Five reasons to hire a Passive House certifier · Building certification · Building financial incentives
Rebuilding and have a question? Write to us at info@passivehousenetwork.org.
Checked October 2026.
