Passive House
37
“It was a frightening time
to procure a building.”
from the risk of getting wet also.
“The wall cassettes were then clad on-site with Gutex wood fibre insulation
externally, which eliminates thermal bridges, and an internal service cavity
was further insulated. External render was applied to a vented Aquapanel
rain screen. The roof and balcony construction were similar, with a vented air
layer under the waterproof layer again offering a very robust way of dealing
with moisture in the construction, which was breathable,’’ he explained.
“The eco-village has a district heating system, fired by a communal
wood chip boiler and backed up with a solar array. The district heating is
not working at its optimum yet, as it is designed for the full build-out of the
development, which is perhaps just over half occupied at the moment. The
system supplies a large thermal store buffer tank in the plant room once or
twice a day, from which a heat exchanger draws heat and tops up the heat
recovery ventilation system.
“At the 2013 Nearly Zero Energy Building Open Doors event, Ms Nolan
noted the house does not overheat, despite omission of the solar shading
as a cost-saving measure, and maintains comfortable temperatures without
a backup heating system. There are no radiators, although we plumbed a
heating circuit in just in case. There was originally intended to be a stove in the
living room which was also omitted. I have learned from this and subsequent
passive projects to be confident about what you leave out. If your heat load is
telling you that you don’t need a back-up heating system or central heating
then don’t put one in,’’ added Paul.
“This is a project which meets the passive house standard and boasts
other significant environmental benefits, not just in terms of construction but
location, community and hopefully you will agree in terms of architectural
merit.’’
Winter 2016 Home & Build
Winter 2016.indd 37
08/01/2016 4:29 p.m.