Find out how a Victorian home can be retrofitted to strict Passivhaus standards at the UK Passivhaus Conference 2011. Visit our home, the first certified Passivhaus retrofit in the UK for a detailed tour with the team, and find out all about the Princedale Project.

Through super-insulation, installing solar panels and building a heat-recovery system into the home, CO2 emissions and energy consumption have been cut by an estimated 83% and 94% respectively, saving the tenant an estimated £910 a year on fuel bills. The home has no radiators or gas boiler and requires less than 15kWh of energy to heat it per m2 per year, compared to the UK average of 130kWh.

We received funding for the works through The Technology Strategy Boards Retrofit for the Future programme, which aims to implement drastic cuts in carbon emissions from existing social housing. The programme has funded exemplar low energy homes around the country, helping the UK to meet its target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions overall by 2050.

According to the Passivhaus Trust, which recently launched in the UK, there are over 20,000 homes, schools, offices and other buildings that have been designed, built and certified to the low energy building standard across Europe. Interest in the building method seems to be growing in the UK too with over 50 Passivhaus projects estimated to currently be in development. At the first ever UK Passivhaus Conference Chris Huhne MP, Secretary of State for Climate Change said he ‘would like to see every new home in the UK reach the Passivhaus standard.’

The homes energy consumption and comfort levels are being monitored for a minimum of two years, alongside two other homes on the same street, for comparative purposes.Tenant Ms Bakali moved into the home earlier this year with her three children aged 16, 11 and 5. She said:

‘‘I hadn’t heard of Passivhaus before but it has been much easier to live in than I expected; I haven’t had to adjust any of the settings once since we moved in, and it’s more comfortable than any house I’ve lived in before – it just feels normal, it feels like home. I thought it would be nice for a local person from the community to get involved in this type of project and it’s sparked a lot of interest already with my friends. The main benefit is the savings we will make on bills – that will mean a lot.’

The UK Passivhaus Conference is being organised by the Passivhaus Trust and BRE and takes place on 24 and 25 October 2011. The conference exists to spread learning between all those who are interested in the field of low energy building design in the UK and offers a comprehensive review of the uptake of Passivhaus, covering the standard, its suitability in the UK, leading edge case studies and practical delivery of the first Passivhaus projects in the UK.

Find out more about the Princedale Project and our environmental ethos by browsing this site.