Description
The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) provides home ownership and rental financing support for individuals and families with special housing needs. In this capacity, they also support sustainable design and construction practices. When the opportunity came to renovate their headquarters in Harrisburg, PA, they knew they needed to “walk the walk” on sustainability, demonstrating both their own commitment and the ability to achieve high-performance targets in a cost effective manner. PHFA originally aimed for a LEED certification, but then challenged the architect, Murray Associates, towards the end of the design phase to pursue a Passive House certification. The main issue of their existing design was the highly glazed façade, which created solar heat gain issues and could make a Passive House certification difficult.
The architect found the solution in SageGlass, the smart glass of Saint-Gobain. He said: “If we didn’t use dynamic glass, we would have had to offset the energy loss elsewhere, such as adding solar panels or other energy saving elements to the design, and this building was right at the limit.”. The electrochromic glass works invisibly in the background to manage energy, harvesting solar heat in winter and limiting it in summer to reduce the use of HVAC. It also helps create a comfortable space with maximum natural light and permanent vision to the outdoors. In addition, the cost impact of adding SageGlass in the design wasn’t significant in comparison to a standard glazing with mechanical shades, especially once considering user benefits and ease of operation for the PHFA team and staff members.
While achieving the Passive House certification along with occupant comfort and wellness goals was the most important, it was also about sending a broader message to the design community about what’s possible.