Ledbury passive house embraces warmth, wood & light
For Ruth Busbridge and her builder Mike Whitfield, aiming for the passive house standard was just one part of an environmentally conscious approach that put natural, healthy materials to the fore.
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Passive fishermen's cottages on Norfolk coast
Three award-winning affordable homes in scenic North Norfolk have achieved passive certification while embracing a unique local style of architecture.
International selection - issue 9
This issue’s selection features ultra low energy buildings from Mexico, Germany, New Zealand and Italy, and illustrates how widely the energy efficiency specification can vary in different climate zones.
Airtightness - the sleeping giant of energy efficiency
A building’s airtightness test result isn’t just an indicator of its energy efficiency – it’s an unambiguous indicator of build quality. With a little care in design and on site, airtightness targets that may seem impossibly tough are anything but, argues leading architect and certified passive house designer Simon McGuinness.
Passive retrofit emerges from ashes of 80s bungalow
If you’ve ever wanted to take a passive house for a road test, one holiday letting on the coast of west Cork may be too good an opportunity to turn down. The aptly named Sea Spray – an as yet uncertified Enerphit upgraded bungalow – is a bona fide triumph in the face of adversity.
19th century barn gets 21st century fabric upgrade
Hitting Enerphit – the passive house standard for retrofits – wasn’t challenging enough for one Yorkshire retrofit project. The team also had to stop the building falling down, and avoid wholesale changes to the building’s external appearance.
Coastal house goes low energy against the odds
How can a house embrace passive solar principles when all the sun’s heat and light is to the south — but all the best views are to the north? This striking home on the Connemara coast employed some clever solutions.
Stunning Meath home defies passive house stereotypes
A simple building form, few junctions and minimal surface area are some of the cornerstones of passive house design — but as this spectacular certified passive house in Co Meath proves, rules are made to be broken.
East Midlands scheme opt for passive regeneration
One third of the units at a new social housing development in the East Midlands have met the passive house standard— but the entire project was inspired by fabric first, low energy design.
Passive office cuts bills by £25k and absenteeism by 13 percent
Anyone who thinks the passive house standard isn’t relevant to non-domestic buildings is missing a trick. One certified passive office in Leicester reveals the significant benefits companies can yield in terms of saving energy, increasing productivity and improving the bottom line.
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Mixed use London scheme delivers passive at scale
The latest in a string of passive house projects by social housing providers, Octavia’s Housing’s new mixed-use development at Sulgrave Gardens embraced fabric first design on an awkward London site to help protect occupants against rising fuel costs.
International selection - issue 7
This issue’s Eurocentric selection is drawn from the International Isover Energy Efficiency Awards, including a German renovation that generates an energy surplus, a Danish nature reserve, a Romanian Solar Decathlon entry and a Polish church.
The small passive house problem - a solution?
It’s sometimes said to be hard – perhaps too hard – to get a small house to meet the passive house standard. But a small house will have small heating bills, so why is it hard for a small house to be a passive house? Leading passive house consultants Alan Clarke and Nick Grant delve into the passive house software to find out what’s going on.
How to save social housing blocks
Britain and Ireland’s post-war social housing blocks are seen as ugly and uncomfortable, and suffer from high energy bills, damp and mould. But three ambitious renovation projects show the answer doesn’t always lie in demolition.