This project is a state of the art, fully certified Passivhaus masked in a traditional masonry built construction.
Through great attention to detail and many specialised materials and construction elements, the project was able to achieve certified Passivhaus rating despite utilising traditional masonry construction as opposed to the more conventional timber frame seen in the majority of Passivhaus builds.
Through the use of high grade insulation and exceptional levels of air tightness combined with a high-tech heat recovery system, the house is able to maintain temperature utilising just the heat generated through occupation of the building without the use of conventional heating methods such as radiators or underfloor heating.
A key feature was to incorporate a large south facing pitched roof area suitable to carry the PV array. It was also an objective from the beginning to utilise ‘heavy weight’ construction methods so as to create thermal mass within the house, so as to obtain the environmental comfort aspects associated with that approach.
The project used a wide cavity masonry external wall construction, with the cavity fully filled with mineral-fibre insulation. The airtightness approach is based on the sealing properties of wet applied solid plaster applied to the inside of the walls. This form of construction might be described as an adaptation of typical UK building domestic building methods but upgraded to meet Passivhaus performance requirements.
Heat is provided by a wood pellet boiler located in the adjoining garage structure which serves a thermal store located in the attic. From this heat is drawn off for hot water, heated towel rails in wet rooms, and also introduced to the incoming air supply of the ventilation system.
The rooftop solar PV array interlinks with a battery storage facility. In combination with the on site storage of wood pellet boiler fuel, the house is intended to possess good resilience in the event of any interruption to the mains electricity supply. The owners are also able to charge an electric car with the energy they produce alongside all other functions required for comfortable living.
Architecture: Noel Wright – noelwrightarchitects.co.uk
Photography: tradephotographer.com
The result is a house that meets, and is performing to, the Passivhaus standard exactly as hoped and which meets all our needs for our 'forever' home.
Mark and Glynis Biart
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