The Passive House (”Passivhaus”) concept was developed in Germany in the early 1990s by Professors Bo Adamson of Sweden and Wolfgang Feist of Germany. Drawing on Super-insulated and Passive Solar ideas from North America and “Low Energy” European building standards, the concept of a building that could be practically constructed to maintain a comfortable interior climate without conventional heating or cooling systems was devised, tested and proven. The Passive House remains comfortable without large "active" mechanical systems, hence the term "Passive."

In 1996, Dr. Feist founded the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany, to develop and promote the standard. Since then, more than 15,000 Passivhaus buildings have been constructed worldwide. The first Passive House in North America was built in Urbana, Illinois, in 2003 by German architect Katrin Klingenberg. Klingenberg established the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) in Urbana with builder Mike Kernagis, and in January 2008, PHIUS was authorized by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt as the official certifier of Passive Houses in the US.

In 2005 a local architect, Nabih Tahan, applied the Passive House Concept to the remodel of his old bungalow in Berkeley. Nabih used the experience he gained from designing and building low energy houses while living in Austria and Ireland for 13 years. The interest generated by this remodeling effort led to the establishment of the Passive House California group.