Let the Passivhaus bells ring!

Old meets new at Warksburn Old Church, a historic building getting a new lease of life as a Passivhaus holiday destination.

The Passivhaus EnerPHit church-to-home project is also targeting net zero performance with on-site renewable energy generation combined with the extensive retrofit strategy. This new chapter for the church, 149 years in the making, harks back to it's original founder Sir George Barclay Bruce, the first engineer to envision renewable electricity generation and storage.

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Timelapse video of the solar array installation at Warksburn Old Church

Key team:

Client & owners: Alan & Anne James

Architect: Insight Architectural Design Ltd

Passivhaus consultant: Ecospheric

Passivhaus certifier: Zero Energy + Passivhaus

Contractor: DJR Joinery and Building

Airtightness testers: Ritchie & Ritchie

Warksburn Old Church | Image credit: Insight Architectural Design

A recent milestone saw the project achieve an incredibly low airtightness test result of 0.19 ACH, translating to around 52 to 79 times more efficient than typical UK legacy housing stock. The required standard for a Passivhaus retrofit of an existing building is 1 ACH, however the result even trumps the ultra-demanding standard Passivhaus classic target of 0.6 ACH.

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This level of airtightness, along with the MVHR, layers of insulation in the floor, external walls and roof and incredibly high specification windows and doors, will create one of the UK’s most energy efficent historic buildings.

Having started on site in 2023, works are nearing completion and Warksburn Old Church will welcome guests later this summer. Some people have been lucky enough to get sneak peak already, with over 70 people booking to see the work in progress as part of the Passivhaus Open Days 2024: Summer Edition.

So, if you’re thinking about an energy efficient, ultra low carbon home, a stay at this EnerPHit church can offer the opportunity to experience the comfort and efficiency of a Passivhaus home for yourself. If Northumberland is a little too far to travel, why not check out our pick of UK Passivhaus projects also offering overnight visits.

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Join us to learn more

Discover more about this unique EnerPHit conversion at the UK Passivhaus Conference 2024. Join us on the 19th of September, in Oxford or online, and hear the Client's perspective on designing and delivering a Passivhaus within such a historic building.

Warksburn Old Church | Image credit: Hexham Courant

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The Passivhaus Retrofit Masterclass lecture series is available on-demand exploring EnerPHit approaches, and delivering retrofit strategies for common building typologies. You can also find out more in our Passivhaus Retrofit campaign.