Princedale Road
2011 – This project, part of the Technology Strategy Board’s (TSB) Retrofit for the Future competition, sets a milestone for low energy refurbishments in the UK. Not only does this project meet the Passivhaus Institut’s EnerPHit refurbishment standard (25 kWh/m2yr, 1.0 achr@50Pa), it meets the newbuild Passivhaus standard as well (15 kWh/m2yr, 0.6 ach@50Pa). What is remarkable about this is that it is done within the confines of local planning policy – in a conservation area. This is done by the use of substantial amounts of internal insulation (200 PU foam) and triple glazing sash window look-alikes. The key to the airtightness, an order of magnitude better than most UK newbuilds, lies in the way that the void between each floor has been treated. Normally this area is a nightmare for airtightness, and what is impressive about this refurbishment is the way that Phillip Proffit, of Ryder Strategies, designed the insulation package. Instead of wrapping membrane around joist buried in the external wall, he designed a steel beam (pictured) to pick up all the joist ends, shortening them so that he had a continuous three storey high void to place his insulation and OSB air barrier in, uninterrupted by the floor zones. Other innovations include Heat Recovery Ventilation with a labyrinth running under the basement floor to preheat the external air, and the aforementioned triple glazed windows. Brilliant – well done all the team who were involved! See http://www.greenoctavia.org.uk/ Princedale Steel supporting floor joists Philip Proffit and example of triple glazed windows (mock sliding...
Read MoreBarbrook
Our role Passivhaus consultancy – Refurbishment Mechanical services design The project: Refurbishment of two semi-detached social housing cottages in North Devon, completed 2011, renovated to almost EnerPHit standard Our focus: At first glance these houses look perfect for a cost-effective retrofit: the external walls are only 100mm thick and are made of heavily reinforced concrete. This means there is no cavity to worry about, and the thickness of the external insulation is not such a big issue. As with all retrofits life is never that simple; our big mistake was assuming the concrete would be relatively airtight. The final airtest results came in just under 1.2 air changes/hour, and a large chunk of that was through the party walls. We designed the mechanical services which comprised of a central biomass boiler for the two dwellings and individual MVHR’s. Read more on Energy Action Devon’s blog The team: Client:North Devon Homes Architect:Clive Jones Contractor: RR Richardson ...
Read MoreHaystone Place
2008, Warmhomes – The project, which comprises the refurbishment and conversion of a Victorian terraced house into two self contained flats, demonstrates how a historic building can be successfully converted in a thermally efficient and architecturally sensitive manner. The existing building has been completely renovated making use of external insulation, and highly efficient heating and ventilation to create a thermal envelope that exceeds Building Regulation standards. The renovations were designed by architect Andrew Paterson at McCaren Design, and built by contractor A.D. Williams. The project was partially grant funded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to enable the return of unoccupied housing stock back into circulation, and the completed flats will be let by Sarsen Housing Association for the next 5 years. PDF poster – Haystone...
Read MoreGibson Mill
2001 – The National Trust wished to introduce a café into the Mill but it had no mains power. As lead consultants we developed an energy strategy which enabled the cafe to operate on 100% renewable energy
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