Plummerswood house receives Passivhaus certification
Plummerswood house- a private dwelling on a site overlooking the River Tweed has been certified by the BRE. It has been designed by Gaia Archietcts to last 100 years and takes into account the requirements of future generations of the family.
The house is the first to be constructed in the UK with zero heating requirements using the mass timber Brettstapel technique. Passive technologies such as orientation for daylight and solar gain, super insulation and air tightness levels have been utilised in order to achieve the Passivhaus standard. The main superstructure was prefabricated in Austria and shipped to the site near the Borders area of Scotland. It was constructed to a six week timt-table in the harsh winter of 2012, on foundations built by local builders.
A two year Post Occupancy evaluation funded by the Technology Strategy Board is currently being conducted by Gaia Research to compare and optimise the manual and automatic options in energy, air quality and comfort terms. The evaluation is looking at the relationship between MVHR and natural ventilation in optimising energy efficiency and comfort. It is intended that this will inform future design and regulation. As part of research Gaia Research is also undertaking a review of UK Research developments and practical activity in Brettstapel construction.
Plummerswood house will be open to visitors during the UK Passivhaus Open Days taking place from 9th-11th Novermber 2012.
