Towards EnerPHit
Dr Tina Holt and her family are about to embark on a radical Passivhaus retrofit of their 1950s detached house in West Bridgford, Nottingham. The house has 9 inch solid brick walls and currently has minimal insulation. The family are aiming to refurbish it to the EnerPHit standard, the Passivhaus standard for refurbishment, and have enlisted the help of architects Gil Schalom and Alan Budden to help with this. The project is an exemplar refurbishment as part of Transition West Bridgford's Ecohouses project, and will feature in blogs and open house events as the work progresses.
Great attention is being placed upon super insulation, maximising airtightness and minimising thermal bridging during the retrofit. The refurbishment will use phenolic insulation on external walls and in the roof area (as part of a loft conversion) combined with replacement of single glazed windows with high performance triple glazing. The ground timber floor is due to be replaced with solid floor and a two unheated areas will act as ‘draught lobbies’ for the house. A bay window is going to have to be re-built due to structural weakness. The new bay is being designed by Alan Budden to minimise thermal bridging and will be constructed using timber frame construction.
Detailing for the window installation involves windows being positioned within the exterior phenolic insulation, so that the insulation wraps around the windows.
Green Building Store products specified for the project include:
- Ecopassiv cost-effective high performance FSC Pure timber windows, with a whole window U value Uw = 0.75 W/m2K. Dr Holt commented: “With the house walls being super-insulated, we really wanted windows that would be passive house suitable. The Ecopassiv windows met our criteria, at a price that was more affordable than the alternatives.”
- PAUL Focus 200 mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system – to provide high air quality with excessive heat loss. Green Building Store’s MVHR systems have been specified for a number of reasons: “a combination of having products suitable for ultra-low energy homes and an excellent reputation for ducting route design that minimises noise and maximises efficiency”.
- Pro Clima airtightness membranes, tapes etc
More information
The project is due to go on site in Autumn 2011 and will be regularly featured on West Bridgford Ecohouses website as the build progresses: www.wbecohouses.co.uk and eco-retrofit.blogspot.com
To receive details of open house events as they are organised, email info@wbecohouses.co.uk
The house also features on the SEA website as an "aspiring superhome": www.superhomes.org.uk/superhomes/aspiring-superhome-nottingham-harrow-road
- Gil Schalom, Gil Schalom Design, Nottingham, Tel: 07981 501322, email@gilschalom.com
- Alan Budden, Eco Design Consultants, Milton Keynes, Tel: 01908 363490, studio@ecodesignconsultants.co.uk, www.ecodesignconsultants.co.uk
- Green Building Store, Tel: 01484 461705, www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk
