UKs First Passivhaus Premium certified

Erne Campus, the newly completed further education college in Enniskillen, NI has recently been certified to Passivhaus Premium standard, generating four times more energy on-site than it uses. It is the world’s first educational Passivhaus Premium building, the first non-domestic Passivhaus Premium in the UK and has also achieved a BREEAM Outstanding accreditation.

Erne Campus, Image credit: South West College

Following successful development of the award-winning CREST Pavilion in 2015 the client, South West College, took the opportunity to make a business case to target Passivhaus Premium as the next progressive step in its campus development. The completed Erne Campus building displays best practice for public buildings, set against the backdrop of targets to reduce carbon emissions and future policy.

Key Stats

Build start date: June 2018
Completion & certification: June 2021
Occupied from: September 2021
TFA: 7,167m²
Form Factor: 0.6

Erne Campus, Image credit: South West College

Performance of the new building contrasts sharply with the former hospital on the site, representing a radical reduction in energy use, emissions and running costs: based on PHPP, heating energy demand is some 95% lower, saving the College an estimated £54,000 a year in heating bills alone.

When it opens in September 2021, Erne Campus will accommodate 800 full-time and 2,000 part-time students along with 120 staff. Barry McCarron of South West College describes a cultural shift in thinking that has been driven by the building’s development:

This development has really provided a culture change to the organisation against the backdrop of a climate emergency. The project sets a new standard for educational and public buildings both locally and across the globe in terms of energy efficiency, year-round comfort, and indoor air quality. Our hope is that Erne Campus will act as a beacon and source of inspiration for building designers everywhere in delivering on much-needed dramatic reductions in carbon emissions from the built environment.

The Erne Campus project was technically very challenging, but to the credit of all the teams involved there was a genuine willingness to grab the opportunity to achieve something special, which has been confirmed now the certification has been awarded.

It is our aim that the building will have a real legacy feel, with many initiatives already underway as part of the project. During the construction phase we set up an academy with the main contractor Tracey’s, and already this has had a real influence on the degree students who will graduate from this programme later in the summer. We are also working on concepts such as an International Passivhaus Summer School, where we can deliver training and provide a true world class experience with it in partnership with others.

Barry McCarron, South West College

Key Stats Build start date: June 2018 Completion & certification: June 2021 Occupied from: September 2021 TFA: 7,167m2 Form Factor: 0.6 Erne Campus, Image credit: Hamilton Architects

Construction

U-values for floor, walls, roof all in the range 0.11 W/m²K to 0.15 W/m²K
Windows and doors u-values 0.7 W/m².K
Windows g-value 0.41

Energy Performance

Performance in use (BPE) monitoring is in place and performance data for the completed building will be published in due course. Data below are predicted based on PHPP except for airtightness which was measured on-site.

The heating system is a combination of a bio-oil micro CHP unit producing 80% of the heating energy demand and 100% of the DHW demand; and finally an air-to-water heat pump providing the remaining 20% of heating energy demand.

Airtightness (≤0.6ACH@50pascals) (Actual)	0.36 ACH@50pascals
Thermal Energy Demand (≤15kWh/m².yr)	8.4 kWh/m².yr
Thermal Energy Load (≤10W/m²)	9.14 W/m²
Primary E Demand (≤120kWh/m².yr + heat load factor)	42.49 kWh/m².yr
Primary Energy Renewable Demand (PER ≤30kWh/m².yr)	28.4 kWh/m².yr
Primary Energy Renewable Generation (PER ≥120kWh/m².yr)	115.7 kWh/m².yr

Erne Campus, Image credit: Padraig McAlister

Key Team

Client: South West College / Department for Economy (NI)
Architect: Hamilton Architects, Belfast / Mullarkey Pederson Architects
Main Contractor: Tracey Brothers Ltd
Consultants: Semple McKillop / WYG / Bennett Robinson Design / MosArt Architects
Structural Engineer: White Young Green / Albert Fry Associates
Certifier: MosArt / Passivhaus Academy Ireland

Congratulations to all the team involved in the design and delivery of this world first Passivhaus Premium. We hope it will inspire and help spur urgent transition to achieving net-zero within the built environment. Join us in exploring more Passivhaus University buildings in the next phase of our Passivhaus for Educational Buildings Campaign.

Delve into the successes of the project on the 1^st July at a free to attend webinar. Booking is essential.

Erne Campus, Image credit: South West College