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Green Building Store has just produced some new resources on low energy retrofits, which apply the lessons it has learnt from building to the exacting Passivhaus standard to typical hard-to-treat homes in West Yorkshire. The resources have been developed as part of the MASTT (Marsden & Slaithwaite Transition Towns) Warmer Homes project in partnership with Connect Housing, and have been funded by DECC. The project has involved exploring low energy approaches to two homes - a Victorian mid-terrace and 1940s semi-detached home - in the Colne Valley, West Yorkshire. Modelling the homes in Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP), strategies were developed for each of the homes - at three different budget levels - demonstrating the level of improvements that are possible. For the 1940s house, it was possible to reach the EnerPHit standard, the Passivhaus standard for refurbishments, with 90% projected cuts in heating demand.
Written for a non-technical audience, the resources are intended to help householders develop a strategic and holistic approach to low energy refurbishments, ahead of the Government's Green Deal programme. Householders are encouraged to develop a 'whole house plan' when undertaking improvements, so that incremental improvements (eg improving the energy efficiency of a single room) are put in the context of the future plan for the whole house. In addition, Green Building Store has stressed the importance of four key principles (insulation, airtightness, continuity of insulation and ventilation) working together to achieve effective low energy refurbishments. The resources also look at the importance of thinking about ventilation strategies when improving the airtightness of homes - ranging from extractor fans and trickle vents to MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) systems, depending on levels of airtightness.
Chris Herring, Director of Green Building Store, commented: "We have a huge challenge in the UK to start refurbishing our homes for energy efficiency, and I hope the Government's Green Deal, when introduced later this year, will increase interest in this. Our Warmer Homes resources will help householders make well-informed decisions for improving their homes, based on best-practice building principles."
The free 'Warmer Homes' resources - including two films and 12 page booklet - are available from:
21 Degrees (formerly Green Building Store) - https://www.21degrees.com/
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