Thursday, January 20, 2011

First 'Passivhaus' developed in UK

Wimbish, Essex - a UK first for rural sustainability
A Hastoe Housing Association development in Wimbish, Essex is on target to be the first rural affordable Passivhaus development in the UK. The aim is to complete the scheme this Spring, then receive accreditation from the Passivhaus Institut (Germany) by early Summer 2012.

The scheme has received investment from the HCA via a grant of £830,000 from the National Affordable Housing Programme. The scheme is being built on a rural exception site, with the 14 shared ownership and social rented homes being reserved for those people with strong local connections to the community.

The homes will require little or no energy use for heating or cooling. They will have excellent thermal comfort and ventilation and low primary energy use, meaning reduced living costs for residents. The buildings will also achieve high quality construction standards and reach Level Four of the Code for Sustainable Homes meaning that they will be super energy efficient.

The team visited Germany, the birthplace of Passivhaus, last year to find out more about the concept. They viewed Passivhaus homes where the technology has been tried, tested and proven to be successful in European climate conditions.

More details at HCA

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