Positive Energy
MEP engineers who treat a house as the air it contains, not the surfaces around it.
What they're known for
A licensed Austin engineering firm doing mechanical, electrical and plumbing design for custom residential architecture, with a decade-old building science podcast and a public position against additive air cleaners.
Positive Energy is an Austin-based MEP engineering and building-science firm specializing in custom residential architecture. Its work emphasizes humidity control, ASHRAE 62.2 ventilation, filtration, commissioning, and coordination between enclosure and mechanical systems, with third-party project credits on Theresa Passive House and Marfa Ranch. The firm is also notable for a clear stance against additive air-cleaning technologies such as ozone and ionization. Its public guidance is unusually technical, though portfolio-wide measured performance data remains limited.
Capabilities
- MEP Engineering
- Building-Science Consulting
Performance focus
- Indoor Air
- Thermal Comfort
- Humidity
- Passive House
Credentials
Texas Registered Engineering Firm F-17960
Registered as Ecoscience LLC DBA Positive Energy, active through July 2028, confirmed in the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors roster.
Texas Professional Engineer (PE)
Three active licenses, all in the mechanical discipline: Kristof Irwin (122313), Harris Pfeil (130089) and Ningling Zhu (151531). Confirmed in the state roster. No electrical or plumbing PE of record in Texas.
ASHRAE Technical Committee 2.1, Physiology and Human Environment
Kristof Irwin, corresponding member, non-voting, per ASHRAE's current roster. He has also served on SSPC 55 in a non-voting capacity. The firm's site claims voting membership on three ASHRAE committees; the rosters do not support that.
Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC)
The firm lists four staff holding the credential. Not independently confirmed, and one of the two pages carrying these listings is out of date.
Notable projects
- Austin, TX · 2020
Theresa Passive House
Austin renovation and addition that became the first project in the South to receive PHIUS Source Zero certification.
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Sources
- Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors — firm and PE rosters
- Texas Architect Magazine — Theresa Passive House credits
- Texas Architect Magazine — Marfa Ranch credits
- Texas Society of Architects — lessons from the Theresa Passive House
- ASHRAE — Technical Committee 2.1 roster
- Fine Homebuilding — The Fine Homebuilding Interview: Kristof Irwin
- Positive Energy — Healthy Home
- The Building Science Podcast
Facts verified July 2026. Compound is an independent editorial directory and is not affiliated with this company unless stated.