Passivhaus Principles Home Passed by Sheffield Planners

5th December 2014

Sheffield planners are continuing to grow the city's green credentials with the approval of an ultra-sustainable home.

The city council's planning committee granted planning approval for the conversion of a 1960s property into a high specification, contemporary detached house on Bracken Hill in Burncross. Paul Holden from Peak Architects brought the successful application to completion which integrates the German-founded Passivhaus principles to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions by up to 90 per cent, within the existing footprint of the building. Paul said: "The success of this refurbishment and retrofit project is centred around the integration of sustainable Passivhaus principles including extremely high levels of insulation; triple glazing, whole house ventilation and renewable energy sources including photo voltaic and solar thermal panels, combined with air source heat pumps. "As energy demands and prices increase, the need for homes to be far more efficient and conserve energy rather than waste it, will only rise. "Increased design standards and legislation recognise this for new build, but the ability to successfully renovate and convert existing buildings needs to be addressed. "The principles are recognised as the worldwide benchmark for energy efficient building and Sheffield is proving to be very proactive in the development of such properties. This will be one of the first building in the region to integrate these principles into its existing footprint." Research from the Technology Strategy Board on retro fit using existing technologies has shown delivery of deep carbon reductions without compromising the comfort of residents. Paul added: "Post war dwellings make up 60 per cent of the current housing stock offering a huge market for retrofitting and one which has not really been considered until now. This concept makes it viable for people to make drastic reductions in their carbon footprint, reduce their energy bills and improve their environment without moving home." Construction is expected to start on site in April 2015. The principles of the Passivhaus system began in Germany in the 1990s. Only 20,000 Passivhaus have been constructed across the globe, many in Scandinavia and Germany. Work began in Sheffield earlier this year at Little Kelham to build 107 Passive Houses from scratch, making it the UK's largest development of energy efficient and virtually air tight homes. For further information on Passivhaus principals and development contact Peak Architects on 0114 303 4442.