Clearview National November 2018 - Issue 204 | Page 68
ENERGYEFFICIENCY
‘The Rise of Passivhaus’
» » THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF
Passivhaus is its ability to reduce the permitted
space heating demand and primary energy
consumption. This is achieved in several
ways, but primarily by designing a building
envelope with high insulation with minimal
thermal bridging. By adding the crucial
element of fresh outdoor air being circulated
with extensive heat recovery means that energy
consumption is kept at a minimum. The best
use of natural daylight, including some solar
gain, further enhances the energy savings in
this unique form of construction. The BRE
refer to the following functional definition of
Passivhaus:
“A Passivhaus is a building, for which
thermal comfort can be achieved solely by
post-heating or post-cooling of the fresh air
mass, which is required to achieve sufficient
indoor air quality conditions – without the
need for additional recirculation of air.”
Passivhaus is best known for its ability to
offer very low energy consumption homes,
typically just 15kWh/m2/year, but the concept
is being used increasingly on commercial
buildings in the UK. It is claimed that the
construction method can offer energy savings
in use of up to 90% compared to current UK
building stock. One of the newest projects
is the recently completed, 2,500 m2 research
facility for the University of Nottingham,
providing laboratory, office and support
accommodation for the UK Government
Energy Research Acceleration Initiative,
known as the ‘RAD’ Building (Research
Acceleration & Demonstration) on the Jubilee
campus. The building was constructed
by Robert Woodhead construction of
Nottingham and has been designed to achieve
BREEAM Excellent and includes further
extensive Passivhaus measures to reduce energy
requirements.
High performance window, curtain wall
and door systems from Aluprof UK have
been used throughout the building offering
very high levels of insulation. Aluprof
systems used were TT50 curtain wall
& MB104 windows, the fabricator and
installer of the fenestration was Commercial
Systems International of Humberside. On
completion the building has been extensively
tested and has gained the coveted Passivhaus
certification.
But is the Passivhaus standard suitable
for the UK’s temperate climate? Since its
introduction in Germany in the early 1990’s,
developed by Professors Bo Adamson of
Sweden and Wolfgang Feist of Germany,
there has been a great deal of discussion and
standards revision to accommodate climatic
conditions across Europe. It was at the
turn of the last century when a EU funded
project demonstrated the construction of 221
homes to the Passivhaus standard across four
countries. Feedback and resident satisfaction
proved the concept beyond doubt and today
over 65,000 buildings have been designed,
built and tested to the standard worldwide.
So how does Passivhaus cope with the
high summer temperatures recently enjoyed
in the UK? As long as night time cooling is
available, by use of natural ventilation, which
cools the inside structure of the building,
Passivhaus performs well virtually working in
reverse. On south facing walls there may be
external shading devices to reduce solar gain
and the very nature of the high insulation
walls and fenestration, helps keep the heat
out.
With the increasing levels of fuel poverty
across the globe and the advancements
in the key features of Passivhaus, such as
developments in the Mechanical Ventilation
and Heat Recovery (MVHR) units as well
much higher thermal efficient aluminium
systems window systems with triple glazing,
such as supplied by Aluprof, construction
has become more affordable and efficient.
Consequently over the last few years growth of
Passivhaus in the UK has begun to flourish.
Aluprof UK’s head office and extensive
distribution centre is located in Altrincham,
Cheshire. Aluprof systems are increasingly
being specified on a wide range of residential
and commercial projects across the UK
including Passivhaus projects. Systems are
designed, fabricated and installed by selected,
specially trained companies, to ensure each
fabricated product meets the Aluprof exacting
standards.
Further information is available on the
company’s website at www.aluprof.eu and
specialist advice is available directly from
Aluprof ’s UK offices on 0161 941 4005.
68 » N OV 2018 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M