Session · Climate and carbon · Designers and consultants

Quitting Carbon in Quebec: PHPP, BEAM and Real Data

Evelyne Bouchard, Tandem Architecture Écologique · May 7, 2026 · Chapter · NEPH (Northeast Passive House)

A certified Passive House in Quebec, lived in by its architect: whether the embodied carbon of extra insulation outweighs the operational savings, assessed with the BEAM Estimator, and how the PHPP model compares with two years of measured use.

Key points

• Life-cycle strategies that cut upfront carbon while keeping Passive House performance.
• How reliable PHPP modeling is for comfortable, resilient operation.
• How occupant behavior and weather affect energy use and comfort.
• How one project's decisions fit into grid resilience and decarbonization.

Learning objectives

• Identify life-cycle assessment strategies that reduce upfront carbon impacts while maintaining Passive House performance standards.
• Assess the reliability of PHPP energy modeling in supporting safe, comfortable, and resilient building operation.
• Recognize how occupant behavior and weather variations influence energy use, thermal comfort, and system performance.
• Understand how decisions made at the scale of a single project fit into a broader context of grid resilience and decarbonisation.

Topics: Embodied carbon, Operations and maintenance