Octavia Housing’s Victorian Passivhaus opened for tours on Friday 11 November as part of the International Passive House Open Days which took place in more than ten countries worldwide.

Organised by the International Passive House Association and its partners worldwide, the 8th International Passive House Days, took place from 11 -13 November 2011, and marks the 20th anniversary of the Passive House concept.

Passive House has become one of the world’s leading low energy standards and involves making a building very well insulated and virtually airtight, with heating and hot water produced through solar energy and the warmth produced by people within the building. The concept also includes using a mechanical heat ventilation recovery unit to produce excellent indoor air-quality, through filtering, heating and cooling air before it enters the building.

The Passive House Days provide a chance for enthusiasts and newcomers alike to experience Passive Houses in all their variety, along with the comfort they offer, first hand. This year’s Passive House Days were larger than ever, with participating projects and side events marking the occasion in a wide array of countries including Japan, Chile, Ukraine, Lithuania, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, the UK and the US.

One of ten UK projects opened to the public over the three days, 100 Princedale Road comes equipped with over a dozen low energy innovations including the UK’s first imitation sash triple glazed windows (required to meet the planning constraints of the conservation area), super wall insulation, ESE solar thermal panels and a heat exchanger system (MVHR) that recycles energy from waste air and water. The home has no gas boiler, radiators or conventional heating system and uses these innovations to keep the house at a comfortable temperature with a healthy air-flow all year round.

The project was awarded Passivhaus accreditation by Peter Warm of WARM: Low energy building practice, one of just four Passivhaus certifiers in the country. Warm said:

‘The renovation at 100 Princedale Road is a milestone in the history of thermal renovation - it has achieved the demanding “Passivhaus” standard, the leading standard for low energy building. What makes this a milestone is that this is a building in a conservation area,  where external wall insulation is not generally acceptable, and that it has dealt with the difficult issues of internal wall insulation and building airtightness by an overall concept of lining the shell with a continuous box. The airtightness of the building is ten to twenty times better than most current building projects. This surely will be one of the buildings that shape how we learn to deal with our existing housing stock.’

Visitors to the home commented:

‘What a great place to live! It feels really warm and cosy and you don’t see any difference externally compared to the other houses in the street.’

‘Impressive, well done. The overall workmanship is high in quality. Most important, the residents are benefitting from the improvements and are proud of it.’

Octavia Housing have recently started work on a large mixed-tenure Passivhaus development in the capital, providing 30 affordable low energy homes for Londoners, completing in 2012.

For more information on the project browse this site or contact green@octaviahousing.org.uk.

As part of the International Passive House Days, the UK’s first certified Passivhaus retrofit, 100 Princedale Road, will be open for tours on Friday 11 November.

Put on by iPHA and its international partners/affiliates, the 8th International Passive House Days, taking place from 11 -13 November 2011, mark the 20th anniversary of the Passive House concept.

The Passive House Days provide a chance for enthusiasts and newcomers alike to experience Passive Houses in all their variety, along with the comfort they offer, first hand. This year’s Passive House Days are set to be larger than ever, with participating projects and side events marking the occasion in a wide array of countries such as Japan, Chile, Ukraine, Lithuania, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, the UK and the US.

Octavia’s award-winning Victorian Passivhaus retrofit will be holding tours from the project team at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and 5pm on Friday 11 November.

To book a tour contact green@octaviahousing.org.uk. For more information on the project browse this site.

Find out more about the International Passive House Days here and the other projects that are open to visitors in the UK here.

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.

The project team, including Greenwich University and Pellings Ltd, will develop a risk framework that prioritises the most effective adaptations to make to homes to protect them from adverse effects such as flooding and overheating.

Noel Brosnan, Director of Asset Management at Octavia Housing said:

“Over the coming years climate change will have a major impact on the performance of UK social housing. This project will develop a risk framework that is meaningful to both landlords and tenants and help us to prioritise and integrate adaptation interventions into our maintenance plans at an appropriate time and an acceptable cost. This will help to ensure that Octavia’s homes continue to support the well-being needs of tenants.”

This is the second part of the Technology Strategy Board’s Design for Future Climate funding competition. The first ran in 2010 and provided funding totalling £2.5m for 26 building projects. For this second part, each of the successful applicants will be awarded a contract of up to £100,000.
 

Richard Miller, Head of Sustainability at the Technology Strategy Board, said:

“We are already designing and constructing new buildings that are more energy efficient and have lower levels of CO₂ emissions, compared to existing buildings. The next challenge is to make sure our buildings are resilient and adaptable to the climate change that will take place over the coming decades. There is a significant market opportunity for design teams to develop climate adaptation services to respond to forthcoming changes in standards and regulations.”

Octavia Housing green ethos stems from our founder Octavia Hill who campaigned for clean air in London, laying the foundations for the 1956 clean air act.

The project will commence in 2012. For more information on our environmental approach please explore this site or contact green@octaviahousing.org.uk.

• Find out about energy saving grants you could claim
• What is your carbon footprint?
• Do you want a free home energy check?
• Fancy becoming a ‘green ambassador’ for your block or area?
 

Sessions run from 10am to 2pm on Tuesday 1 November and Tuesday 6 December 2011. Contact green@octaviahousing.org.uk to find out more.

Londoners can take a free guided tour of the 1850s home, which is the first retrofit in the UK to achieve strict Passivhaus certification, one of the highest green standards.

Following nearly 300 visitors last year during the mid-build stage, the completed home will open its doors for free again on Sunday 18 September 2011 as part of Open House London Weekend, the capital’s greatest architectural showcase.

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.

The home, 100 Princedale Road W11 4NH, will be open to the public for tours between 10am and 4pm on Sunday 18 September 2011. Victoria Thornton, Director of Open House commented:

“Experiencing architecture in the flesh helps everyone become more knowledgeable, engage in dialogue and make informed judgments on the buildings, places and neighbourhoods where we all live, work and play. 73% of our visitors say Open House made them feel differently about London’s architecture.”

Tours are available by pre-booking only at: www.londonopenhouse.org. Find out more about the project on this site.

Octavia Housing alongside designers and builders Ryder Strategies, architects Paul Davis and Partners, energy consultants Eight Associates and project managers Green Tomato Energy are conducting an ‘eco experiment’ comparing the comfort and energy use of the UK’s first certified Passivhaus retrofit with two other homes on the same street which have been refurbished to lower levels of energy efficiency. All three homes are being monitored for a minimum of two years with the statistics due to be made publically available shortly.

As the main part of the experiment, the team transformed an 1850s terraced house in a Holland Park conservation area by refurbishing it to strict Passivhaus levels. This is a German low energy building standard that requires the home, amongst other criteria, to use less than 15kWh of energy to heat it per m2 per year, compared to the UK average of 130kWh. The home’s CO2 emissions and energy consumption have been cut by an estimated 83% and 94% respectively, saving the tenants an estimated £910 a year on fuel bills.

The Green Apple Awards began in 1994 and have become established as the country’s major recognition for environmental endeavor among companies, councils, communities and countries. The awards are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-activist, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising and promoting environmental best practice.

The project was in competition with over 100 other nominations for the accolade. The team were presented with their award by Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind-up radio, at a ceremony at the University of Westminster on the 20 June 2011.

Judges for the Green Apple Awards are drawn from the Environment Agency, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Chartered Institution for Wastes Management, BRE and other independent bodies.

Octavia Housing are also developing a large mixed-tenure Passivhaus development in the capital, providing 30 affordable low energy homes for Londoners, completing in 2012.

Find out more about the retrofit project by browsing this site.

The Green Apple Awards began in 1994 and have become established as the country’s major recognition for environmental endeavour among companies, councils, communities and countries.

The awards are organised by The Green Organisation, an independent, non-political, non-activist, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising and promoting environmental best practice.

Judges for the Green Apple Awards are drawn from the Environment Agency, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Chartered Institution for Wastes Management, BRE and other independent bodies.

100 Princedale Road recently achieved the first Passivhaus certification for a retrofitted home in the whole of the UK. Find out more about the project by browsing this site.

Boushra Bakali aged 36 and her three children Mouad, 16, Siriyn, 11, and Othman, 5 moved into 100 Princedale Road on 28 February 2011.

Look out for updates on how they’re finding living in their unconventional home here soon.