last word: sto
The last WORD
PassivHaus: The
environmental blue print By Denise Freeman
Denise Freeman is Head of Marketing, Sto Ltd. Sto Ltd is one of only two system designers to have its standard details certified by the Passive Haus institute. Sto has been distributing innovative, performance products and systems for the building industry in the UK and Ireland for over 25 years. The Sto range includes market-leading, impact- resistant external wall insulation systems; thin-coat, crack-resistant, through-coloured acrylic renders; a range of ecological paints including the innovative, self-cleaning facade paint as shown on Grand Designs; glass, stone and render rainscreen cladding systems and a range of seamless and modular acoustic ceiling systems.
With significant demand for energy efficient buildings and the ever changing regulatory landscape, there is no doubt that architects and developers are constantly being challenged to up their game and establish innovative ways of creating energy efficient buildings, with minimum environmental impact.
W
ith the added pressures of local authority Building Regulations
and the Code for Sustainable Homes, there is growing demand from the government for developers to utilise sustainable construction methods. As a result, the gradual introduction of PassivHaus into the UK could very well prove to be the sustainable construction blue print for the future – taking energy efficiency to the next level.
PassivHaus design principles
offer the necessary specification for both new build homes and non-domestic dwellings to achieve exceptional levels of energy efficiency. Pioneered in Germany by Professor Wolfgang Feist, the first PassivHaus buildings were completed in 1991. That said, PassivHaus is still considered to be a very new construction method here in the UK.
The PassivHaus design standard stipulates that a PassivHaus building is an energy efficient, active, building. It must minimise
32 Architects Choice
its energy requirements by making the best use of assistance from natural elements, utilising free energy, including solar energy and the warmth generated from the people and the equipment in the building. The PassivHaus standard also sets a specific performance benchmark for thermal efficiency levels, requiring a U-value rating of
K
A PassivHaus building is designed with a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery system that takes an active approach by heating the incoming fresh air, which also allows for more flexibility with the building design. Whereas structures sometimes termed Passive Houses rely on orientation and format and use fewer or no active mechanical and electrical systems. Working alongside architects investing in PassivHaus construction, Sto is really getting behind the PassivHaus principle and championing its cause throughout projects in the UK. Sto has also capitalised on its pan-European expertise, providing expert knowledge and comprehensive advice for each project, in addition to putting individuals in contact with the PassivHaus centre experts in Freiburg. To date we’ve seen the UK’s first PassivHaus office in Dover, a Zero Carbon retrofit house, a second domestic property soon to be completed in the Cotswolds and the first social housing Scottish PassivHaus
development in Scotland, all built using PassivHaus principles and utilising Sto’s External Wall Insulation (EWI) system StoTherm Classic. As PassivHaus relies on excellent air tightness and exceptional levels of thermal efficiency within the building envelope, the highly effective thermal conductivity in the StoTherm classic system enables the walls to realise the required U-Value ratings of at least
K, ensuring the
buildings retain their energy. Although current legislation states that it is mandatory to build to a minimum of Code Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, for new build homes, building to PassivHaus standards enables the building to comfortably meet Code Level 4, going above and beyond the current specifications. However, by 2013 this will increase and all new builds will have to comply with Code Level 4. The faster we learn to investigate and embrace new technology, superior building products and innovative construction methods, the quicker we establish a sure fire way of satisfying legislation whilst creating energy efficient buildings. In practical terms, PassivHaus could quite possibly supply the answer to the sustainable construction problem, and provide an environmental development blue print that is very much in need, influencing future sustainable design and construction practice. ■
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