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A hostile administrative rift has divided an international group that works to build affordable, extremely energy efficient buildings, leaving local consultants feeling like they are caught in the middle of a family feud.

Passive House, the high-performance building energy standard born in Darmstadt, Germany, has rapidly gained popularity in the Northwest. The region’s close-knit community of Passive House builders and consultants is reeling from the news that the international Passive House Institute (PHI) has severed ties with the Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS).

鈥淭here’s a lot of confusion in everyone’s mind as to what all of this means,鈥� said Jim Burton, president of Passive House Northwest, a nonprofit trade association independent of both institutes. 鈥淧HI is interpreting things one way and PHIUS (pronounced FEE-us) in another 鈥� but neither is at fault, according to each of them. It’s hard to objectively know what is behind it all.鈥�

The bottom line is that Wolfgang Feist, founder of the Passive House movement and president of the international institute, suspended all contracts with PHIUS, an independent nonprofit that was founded in 2007 with the mission to implement the Passive House standard in North America. Feist, in an August 17 letter, stripped the North American group of its certification capabilities under the international system.

Feist accused PHIUS of 鈥渂reaches of contract and good faith,鈥� namely: certifying Passive House buildings 鈥渨ithout the requisite documentation,鈥� infringing upon PHI’s copyright of the software (the Passive House Planning Package) used to certify projects, and introducing a competing professional certification scheme.

PHIUS converted the European software and certification exam from metric units to inches and pounds, and recently made moves to incorporate third-party certification in the U.S. process, but Katrin Klingenberg, executive director and co-founder of PHIUS, contends that it has consulted with the international body all along.

鈥淚n my personal opinion, it’s a lot of 鈥榟e said, she said’ right now,鈥� said Alexander Boetzel, vice president of both Passive House Northwest and Portland-based Green Hammer. 鈥淭he organizations have different approaches and I think a lot of that has to do with the different construction traditions in Europe and America.鈥�

Although PHIUS will no longer be recognized by the international institute, it can continue to certify consultants and projects through its own processes.

Passive House consultants in Oregon, for the most part, say work in the region will continue to move forward, even though the effect of fallout from the battle is still unclear.

鈥淚 don’t think it will have much of an effect in Oregon and Washington,鈥� said Tad Everhart, who was a PHIUS board member in 2009 and has worked extensively to publicize the Passive House movement in Oregon. 鈥淲e have a very strong regional organization 鈥� and access to experts in building science who don’t have to carry any sort of Passive House label or certification in order to give great assistance.鈥�

Everhart has been working since 2009 to retrofit his own home to meet Passive House standards.

Stephen Aiguier, president of Portland-based Green Hammer, which employs five certified Passive House consultants, is confident that the building method will survive even if the certification system changes.

鈥淯ltimately, we will keep making buildings that will perform to the same high standards 鈥� even if one of the logos were to disappear,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ore than anything, the unfortunate thing is that this will make things more confusing for the consumer for a little while,鈥� he said.

In the future, consultants may have to choose whether to certify through an internationally recognized organization, or through PHIUS 鈥� and most local builders say they will probably stick with PHIUS.

鈥淎s long as we feel that the U.S. Passive House institute is standing behind what we believe in, I think we’ll continue to support them because they’re more focused on the North American building industry,鈥� said Rob Hawthorne, owner of PDX Living LLC.

Others predict that the PHIUS project certification system may even grow in significance. PHIUS has been working with other major players in the marketplace to ensure that all projects that go through its certification system receive a HERS Index score, and may qualify for other energy ratings, including Energy Star and Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design.

鈥淚t seems painful and confusing now, but hopefully in the end, this will help people understand that (PHIUS’ certification system) is more rigorous and is going to be more easily accepted in North America,鈥� said Sam Hagerman, president of the national Passive House Alliance, a nonprofit created to support the growth of the standard in America.

鈥淚 think to a very large extent, PHIUS and the Passive House Alliance have already been functioning without any strong agreements or any real help from the international group,鈥� said Hagerman, who is also president of Portland-based Hammer & Hand.