A need for affordable-to-run and sustainable housing are amongst the challenges faced by developers and councils which are leading to the growing interest in Passivhaus energy efficiency standards across the UK .

With Passivhaus still a relatively new concept ( the world ’ s first Passive House was built in Germany in 1991 ) the construction industry as a whole learns more with each project about how to deliver this pioneering standard , therefore making it more accessible as we move towards the Future Homes Standard .

In Pursuit of Net Zero

In 2022 , Mansfield District Council commissioned four ultra-low energy homes for social housing rental with the aim of achieving Passivhaus accreditation – the first of their kind for the local authority . As a forward-thinking assembly , Mansfield District Council is proactive in its Green agenda , with a target to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050 .

By engaging a local construction firm to build the new homes on Saundby Avenue , the project would also allow the remote monitoring of energy usage of typical families occupying the 2-bedroom homes , whilst offering tenants comfortable homes that would be almost cost-neutral to heat .

Windows and doors for homes of the future

In order to reach Passivhaus status , windows must achieve very low U-Values , with the specified target being below 0.8 W / m ² K . When Mansfield Council ’ s Quantity Surveyor ( QS ) searched the Passive House database , only one company appeared for PVCu windows in the UK – Liniar , whose headquarters just happened to be less than 15 miles from the planned construction site !

As the UK ’ s leading window systems company , Liniar was the first to launch a Passivhaus-certified PVCu casement window back in 2017 . The company has now invested £ 1.6m in updating its ultra-low-energy range to a full window and door system called Zero | 90 , opening up the possibilities of vast energy savings to developers , builders and homeowners .

It ’ s long been recognised that PVCu is a cost-effective , thermally

efficient construction material . Zero | 90 windows and doors can deliver U-Values as low as 0.5 when fitted with quadruple glazing , making it the ideal choice for Mansfield Council ’ s test project .

Engaging Liniar

Once the Mansfield QS had discovered Liniar ’ s product range , he worked closely with Liniar ’ s design team to establish the exact specification for the windows he needed on the project .

Chris Armes , Liniar ’ s Design & Development Director comments , “ My team and I were very confident the Zero | 90 windows specified would ensure the overall performance of the homes reached the Passivhaus standard . Everyone involved in the project was careful to ensure not only that the houses would be the most energy efficient for the tenants , but that the team would also be able to take learnings and apply them to future social housing builds .”

Delivering comfortable , energy efficient homes

One tenant told us , “ My family and I are so happy to be living in our beautiful new home . We ’ re already seeing such a difference in our energy bills and although the winter hasn ’ t properly kicked in yet , the few cold evenings we have experienced outside haven ’ t impacted us at all . And , we ’ ve all noticed such a difference in the reduced noise levels inside , compared to our previous house , which has been an additional bonus .”

Receiving Passivhaus accreditation

The Saundby Avenue build team was extremely proud to receive confirmation the four homes have been certified as Passive Houses , meaning they need very little energy for both heating and cooling – which significantly reduces their carbon footprint and running costs . Even better , the project used mainly local suppliers , delivering high social value .

Chris concludes , “ I couldn ’ t be prouder that Liniar ’ s Zero | 90 casement windows , along with our French doors , helped the Saundby Avenue homes receive Passivhaus accreditation . Knowing four local families will be living in super low energy homes , especially in the current energy and cost-of-living crisis , is a great feeling . High environmental standards MUST be the future of housing construction , and as such Liniar is well positioned , with a fully recyclable , Passivhaus-capable , superior energy efficient window and door system that also contains recycled material – all manufactured in the UK and helping to reduce the embodied carbon as a result .”

www . liniar . co . uk / zero90 To watch a video describing the Saundby Avenue project visit https :// www . youtube . com / watch ? v = yJWqcwFuZ9A