New PassivHaus @ Howe Park Wood, Milton Keynes
We have designed and calculated, what we hope to be Milton Keynes first certified PassivHaus, the ultimate in energy efficient, highly comfortable low carbon building standard. For more information on PassivHaus, see our page on the standard. Our client the Parks Trust, will be renting out this 4 bedroom house once complete, so if you want to live their get in touch with them. We are also planning to add photovoltaic panels (PV) to the roof taking advantage of the feed in tariff to make the house zero carbon and zero fuel bills!
Our Philosophy
Our aim is for this home to be exceptional, both athletically pleasing and truly environmentally sustainable. Design details and specifications in keeping with PassivHaus principles will in addition to reducing environmental impact also add health and comfort dimensions to the home. A unique design feature of this PassivHaus is the double height void which makes this home fun and contemporary.
This home does not compromise it’s sustainable credential, but neither does it compromise on comfort or security. Intelligent design ensures that tenants can reduce their CO2 emissions without compromising how they choose to live in a safe, secure and vibrant home.
The home will be a living, breathing place that is cool in summer and warm in winter. It is intelligent in design as well as operation and, at every turn, simply and effectively design will enable the occupants to reduce their CO2 emissions without compromising how they choose to live their lives. Our aim is to deliver an environmentally sustainable home that is safe, secure, vibrant, and environmentally friendly, that will enhance the health, well being and happiness of all.
Our Strategy Includes:
Zero carbon emissions
A conventional 3 bed house designed to today’s Building Regulations will emit ca. 4.5 tonnes of C02 per year. Our proposal should reduce carbon emissions to zero, through:
- PassivHaus
- High levels of insulation
- Maximised solar orientation
- High comfort levels
- Cool in summer
- Heat recovery & ventilation
- Photo Voltaic Panels
- Water conservation
- Ecological enhancement
- Materials
- Reduced car use
PassivHaus
The house has been designed to this latest European standard that maximises the efficiency of the building using proven techniques, and building physics. It is a proven European standard that maximises efficiency, through solar orientation, high levels of insulation and airtightness, to provide a comfortable and efficient low energy home. This will be combined with the careful selection of efficient appliances and passive design techniques maximising natural daylight, proving a low energy, cheap to run home. For more on passivhaus click here.
High levels of insulation
Lots of Continuous insultaions, improved air tightness and efficient controls, will provide houses that are comfortable to live in throughout the year with minimal heating requirements.
Heat recovery & ventilation
This will be used in autumn, winter and spring, taking the heat out of the exhaust air from the kitchens and bathrooms and giving this heat to warm the fresh air taken from the top of the roof to supply the house with warm fresh health air at the required rate.
Maximised solar orientation
The house has been optimised to maximise solar gain from the south through careful sizing of the windows; whilst heat loss is minimized on the north side. The effect is enhanced using highly efficient triple glazed windows as radiators to heat the house.
Reduced car use
Car reduction will be encouraged by safe secure cycle storage being provided, enabling a healthy and low carbon lifestyle. A home office is also included allowing the occupants to work from home, reducing the travel time and costs.
Healthy Materials
The materials selected to build the house have been selected by environmental credentials for their longevity, toxicity, embodied carbon, reusability, recycled content etc and natural materials used where possible. The selected materials include, treated softwood timber cladding, some with a 50 year warrantee. VOC free paints, recycled kitchen cupboards, linoleum flooring and we are considering using the parks trusts sheep’s wool to insulate the walls.
Water conservation
The units have been designed to minimise water use, in particular hot water that uses energy for heating. This will be achieved through efficient taps, WC’s and showers. A water butt will also be provided collecting rain water for garden use, the overflow from this being directed to reinstate a small pond in the wood.
Photovoltaic panels
PV panels on the roof will be used to offset the remaining electrical demand for the lighting and mechanical systems.
Ecology
Specialist ecological advice has been sort to ensure that existing wild life, fauna and flora is protected and encouraged. Examples of this are the alterations to roadside kerbs to make them amphibian friendly and modifications to road gullies to help newts cross the road more safely. The neglected orchard and dried up pond are to be revitalised and managed. Additional work will include the wild flower seeding of the paddock and addition of bat boxes to encourage native species to thrive.
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