The spacious living area features a woodburner


CONTACTS/ SUPPLIERS


HEATING & VENTILATION NIBE


www.nibe.co.uk Zehnder


www.zehnder.co.uk


SEWAGE TREATMENT Klargester www.kingspanklargester.com


KITCHEN SINKS/TAPS Franke


www.franke.com/gb/en


OVENS/HOBS/FRIDGE Neff


www.neff-home.com/uk


GRANITE WORKTOPS Winkleigh Timber www.winkleightimber.co.uk


STAIRS & BALUSTRADES


WD Joinery wdjoinery.co.uk


BATHROOMS Prado (sourced through Tamar Trading)


www.tamartrading.com


Because the site is wet clay, the pipes maintain their heat much better than if it was a drier soil. The pipes provide heat at a consistent temperature of 55 degrees through the year and which isn’t prone to weather changes. This temperature means keeping the system running is more efficient than switching it on from cold.


The house is heated using a wet underfloor heating system downstairs only, which is kept on continuously at around 22 degrees by nine thermostats, following what Mark says was “a lot of experimentation”. The MVHR fresh air ventilation system is necessitated by the efficient air-tight construction, and this provides enough heating for the upstairs. The only service supplied to the house externally is electricity; they have a private water supply plus a Klargester packaged sewage treatment plant, and solar PVs on the roof topping up their electricity.


In addition to the ground source heating, a NIBE solar cylinder was installed, storing hot water heated by a combination of the ground source heat pump and a solar thermal array on the roof. Except in emergency breakdown situations, renewables will provide all of their heating, and the couple’s income from feed-in- tariffs is greater than their energy bill. Although it’s a healthy return on the ground source heating, the downside is the tariff only lasts seven years, theoretically enough to pay back the £14,000 cost of installation however.


22 www.sbhonline.co.uk


ENERGY-EFFICIENT DESIGN The living room includes a woodburner, however Mark notes that thanks to the house’s highly airtight construction, they haven’t had to use it since they moved in October 2016. In fact, the house performed well in terms of the air-tightness of its fabric during the post- completion air-test, despite the fact that “a couple of things were left open,” says Mark. He says that they decided against triple-glazing despite the sustainability benefits, due to poorer sight lines, and they “wanted to have trickle vents, which you can’t with triple glazing.” In addition, the weight of the glazing units that would have been required if triple-glazing had been used made it non-viable, says Mark: “It was tough enough getting those front glazed units in with double-glazing”. Glazing alone, including standard aluminium window frames, came to around £45,000 for the project. The only downside to the high levels of foil- backed board insulation included in the walls is that the couple’s mobile phone reception is “zero” inside the house, but a booster has solved this problem.


THE BUILD


When it came to ensuring that everyone was on the same page for the construction phase, it was a combination of a good architect, a coordinated approach from Mark as project manager, and an experienced and trustworthy builder. “The architect was very good,” says


november/december 2017


TILING (WALLS & FLOORS) Topps Tiles


www.toppstiles.co.uk


WOOD FLOORING Wood and Beyond www.woodandbeyond.com


WINDOWS


Woodstock Windows woodstockwindows.co.uk


INTERNAL DOORS Howdens Joinery www.howdens.com


WALL CONSTRUCTION H+H Celcon


www.hhcelcon.co.uk


WALL & ROOF INSULATION Celotex


www.celotex.co.uk


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