Passive House Association Ireland

What Passive House Association Ireland does

Passive House Association Ireland (PHAI) is a not-for-profit Company Limited by Guarantee founded in 2010 and headquartered in Dublin, operating across the Island of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Its core function is to promote, educate, and facilitate adoption of the Passive House (Passivhaus) ultra-low-energy building standard, which rests on five technical principles: high-quality insulation, airtight construction, high-performance triple-glazed windows, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR), and thermal bridge free design. PHAI stewards related standards including the EnerPHit retrofit standard and supports use of the PHPP (Passive House Planning Package) simulation tool to verify building performance and close the 'performance gap' seen in conventional construction.

PHAI's business model is membership-led, with nine published annual membership tiers ranging from €50 (student) to €9,500 (Patron at >€500m turnover), plus conference and CPD/training event revenue. The association generates ticketed income from events such as the UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference 2025 (co-hosted with the Passivhaus Trust) and runs webinars and training courses. As Ireland's sole national affiliate of the International Passive House Association (iPHA), PHAI grants members access to Passipedia, Passive House Plus magazine, and a global Passivhaus Forum network. Its customers are architects and building designers, builders and contractors, homeowners and property developers, educational institutions, and commercial and public-sector projects, served through nine disclosed patron enterprises (Cairn Homes, MosArt, KORE Retrofit, OCC Construction, Kernohan Distribution, Aereco, Ecological Building Systems and others) and a broader base of individual and company members. PHAI operates with a small executive team, is governed by a Board of Directors of 9-15 members, and pursues policy influence through consultation documents aligned with Ireland's 2030 zero-emission buildings mandate.

Name

Passive House Association Ireland

Legal name

Passive House Association of Ireland

Website

https://phai.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Passive House Association Ireland (PHAI) is a Dublin-based non-profit that promotes, educates, and certifies adoption of the Passive House ultra-low-energy building standard across Ireland and Northern Ireland via memberships, conferences, CPD training, and government advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Building Industry Association & Sustainability Certification Services

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Passive house standard
• Energy efficient buildings
• Building certification
• Sustainable construction training
• Building retrofits

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership fees from individual, company, and patron members. Revenue supports promotion of Passive House Principles in various forms.
2. Conference and Event Revenue: Ticketed events including the UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference 2025 with masterclass and conference day tickets. Member discounts available.
3. Training and CPD Events: Revenue from CPD events, webinars, and training courses on Passive House principles and retrofitting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Passive House Association of Ireland (PHAI) is a not-for-profit membership organization that promotes the Passive House (Passivhaus) standard across the Island of Ireland. It sells annual memberships (individual, company, and tiered Patron), runs CPD training events and webinars, organizes the UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference, publishes case studies and a certified products/service directory, and advocates for Passive House standards to Irish policymakers.

Product overview

Passive House Association of Ireland (PHAI) is an industry association that promotes the Passive House standard across Ireland. The organization offers membership programs (Standard and Patron tiers), training and education services, a directory of certified professionals and products, case study databases, and advocacy representation. Rather than a unified software product, PHAI provides a portfolio of membership services, educational resources, and professional networking opportunities to advance sustainable building practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Passive House Association of Ireland Membership Annual membership subscriptions for individuals (€150), students/unwaged (€50), small organisations (€250), medium organisations (€500), large organisations (€1,000), and tiered Patron memberships (€2,500 to €9,500 by company turnover). Includes access to iPHA membership, Passipedia, Passive House Plus magazine, CPD discounts, member directory listing, networking, and voting rights at the AGM.
• Training Courses, CPD Events, and Webinars Paid CPD events, training courses, and webinars on Passive House principles, sustainable comfort, retrofitting, and ventilation, delivered by industry experts in-person and online. Ticketed via Eventbrite with member discounts.
• UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference Annual multi-day conference held jointly with the Passivhaus Trust, featuring a masterclass and conference day with in-person and online attendance options. Includes masterclass and conference day tickets with member discounts.
• Certified Passive House Buildings Database and Case Studies Online database and case study library of certified Passive House projects across Ireland, covering residential, commercial, educational, and retrofit examples for member reference and benchmarking.
• Member and Service Directory Online directory connecting Passive House certified designers, consultants, and building product suppliers with project buyers and other professionals.
• Advocacy and Policy Representation Lobbying activities and consultation documents submitted to government on energy-efficient building standards, including input on the 2030 zero-emission building mandate and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Passive House policy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Energy consumption reduced by over 90% in retrofitted properties
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, gold sponsor and minor.

• International Passive House Association (iPHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPHAI is an Affiliated Association with the International Passive House Association, providing members access to a worldwide network of Passive House professionals, Passipedia resources, and the Passivhaus Forum. This affiliation enables knowledge exchange and collaboration on an international scale.
• Passivhaus Trust (UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint organizers of the UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference 2025. Passivhaus Trust is a UK-based organization dedicated to promoting the Passive House standard. Members of both organizations receive discounted conference tickets.
• Ecological Building Systemsgold sponsorGTM or Marketing PartnerGold Sponsor of the UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference 2025. Also a Patron Member of PHAI and exclusive partner with EcoCocon for prefabricated straw wall panels.
• EcoCoconminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading European manufacturer of prefabricated straw wall panels that announced an exclusive partnership with Ecological Building Systems in November 2025 for distribution in Ireland and UK.
• CAFRE (College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthern Ireland government college undergoing major redevelopment of Greenmount and Loughry campuses to Passivhaus standards, with planning granted in 2024 for development continuing to 2031.
• Libraries NIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnerPHit Libraries NI project focuses on retrofitting library buildings across Northern Ireland to meet the EnerPHit standard for energy efficiency.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE): UK professional body for building services engineers — several PHAI board members are CIBSE-aligned chartered engineers. Adjacent enabling organization rather than a direct competitor, with overlapping training and CPD functions.

Emerging players

• Irish Green Building Council: Ireland's broader sustainable building industry body. PHAI overlaps in promoting low-energy construction in Ireland, but IGBC covers all green building topics whereas PHAI is dedicated to Passive House.

Regional players

• Passive House Canada: Canadian national association promoting the Passive House standard. Closely comparable operating model as a country-level membership, training, and advocacy body, but serving a different geography.
• Passive House New Zealand: New Zealand's national Passive House association. Comparable non-profit advocacy and training mission, but operates in a different geography with a distinct construction code base.
• North American Passive House Network (NAPHN): US/Canada-focused non-profit promoting Passive House standards across North America. Similar membership and conference model to PHAI but operating at a larger regional scale.

Broad incumbents

• Passive House Institute (PHI): German research institute that developed the Passive House standard and owns the PHPP certification software. PHAI promotes PHI's standard; PHI is the authoritative technical body and global benchmark PHAI aligns with.
• BRE Group (BREEAM): UK-based building science organization that administers the BREEAM green building certification — a competing standard to Passive House. Comparable as a building certification body, with broader scope and global reach.
• Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI): Ireland's national energy authority running retrofit and energy efficiency programs. PHAI's EnerPHit retrofit work overlaps with SEAI's mandate, making it a comparable public-facing energy efficiency promoter in Ireland.

Direct peers

• Passivhaus Trust: UK-based non-profit promoting the Passive House standard, co-organizer with PHAI of the UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference. Directly comparable membership association operating across the same building standard and adjacent geography.
• International Passive House Association (iPHA): Global umbrella body of which PHAI is an affiliated association. Operates the same membership, training, and advocacy model but at international scope; the parent network to which PHAI belongs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/passive-house-association-ireland

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Passive House Association Ireland