This issue includes yet more articles on pioneering designers and builders who are keen to achieve very low energy buildings and have decided that the best route for achieving this would be the Passivhaus or the AECB’s Gold/Silver standards. We have stories on new-build, renovations and an extension, all inspired by the same dream. These projects are at the cutting edge because an official UK equivalent version of Passivhaus is not yet finalised, so it seems that the standard is actually being developed on-site as fast as it can be documented. Underlying the concepts are the Passivehaus Planning Package (PHPP) and AECB’s Gold details (latter still in progress and not yet publically available).
Mark Siddall tells us how the UK needs to be prepared for Passivhaus and also reports on how planning permission has recently been given for 25 new homes in Sunderland. Apparently these will be the first buildings to be ‘officially certified’ to the Passivhaus standard. We will follow this project with interest.
Jerry Clark reports on the installation of photovoltaic panels in his own home. Running for almost six months he has provided us with the data from his monitoring over this period. He clearly sets out the reasons for his choice and discusses the energy and financial pay-backs. For the autumn issue he has promised to report back, as he will then have data for a complete year.
Gideon Richards has written us an in-depth article on energy pellets (wood pellets) and, to follow this, Gavin Harper brings us the green building forum debate finding that some controversy surrounds the fuel. Gavin also looks into the science behind thermal comfort in buildings with the first in a new series on green building physics.
Heat pumps are never far from the green building agenda and usually for the wrong reasons. However, the ASA has recently upheld a complaint about a heat pump supplier’s advertising (see page 20) in a well known magazine. We return again to the discussion of greenwash and how it continues to tarnish the green building agenda in the UK.
Also:
Ireland’s first eco-village
Preparing the UK for Passivhaus
Green building physics - thermal comfort
Green roofs for Sheffield
Energy pellets - an in-depth review of wood pellets
VAT applies to this product (UK only).