16/05/2013 Cut your bills by up to 90% - Passivhaus

Passivhaus simply translate from it's original German to Passive House. There are so many benefits to this standard, the main one being the dramatic decrease you would experience in your heating bills, homeowner have experienced a decrease by as much of 90%! This is mainly due to the high level of insulation and airtightness reducing the energy needed for heating and cooling, saving homeowners hundreds of pounds a year.

Passivhaus is ideal for self builders designing their dream home, it is not suitable for all houses as some existing buildings don't allow for the alterations needed.

Heat Recovery Ventilation and triple glazing are two of the many energy saving methods that meet the Passivhaus standard.

If you would like to know how Heat Recovery Ventilation can help you achieve Passihaus standard, contact one of our experts.

08/05/2013 National Self Build Week

For all you budding Self Builders out there, there is now a National Self Build week which has just been launched! It runs from 4-12 May and there is a wide range of events which aims to help millions of self builders with their projects.

The organisors are Grand Design live and National Self Build Association, businesses across the sector will be supporting the week by arranging special events. This Week will help explain how to get your project underway and provide practical advice.

To celebrate National Self Build week the Guardian are asking any self builders out there to send in their projects and they will publish the best designs. So get your homes sent in and you could see it featured!

Building a home yourself means you really do end up with the home you want and it's often cheaper! Self builders usually make their homes greener by including features such as Heat Recovery Ventilation, solar panels, ground to air heat exchangers, cavity wall or loft insulation - to name a few. It's a surprise then that less than 10% of new homes in the UK are Self Builds compared to 50% in other EU countries. It is hoped that this Week will help thousands of people get their builds started and hopefully see an increase in projects this time next year!

We wish everyone luck with their self build projects and happy 1st National Self Build Week.

05/04/13 - Retailer turns green with Heat Recovery!

It’s easy to think that Heat Recovery Ventilation Systems are the domain of the self-builder or developer. Here at ADM we’re always on the lookout for successful commercial applications for energy saving ventilation technology.

We were delighted to read that here in our own county of Yorkshire, one of the region’s best known furniture retailers, Barker and Stonehouse have taken the plunge. With an investment of £4m the new flagship store in Knaresborough is claiming it to be the greenest furniture store in the UK.

Twelve highly-skilled Yorkshire craftsmen spent six months on the new 35,000 sq ft store, in addition to range of local companies. And the interesting features of the Knaresborough store, which attracted a top BREEAM rating, are not just on the inside - the glass and steel structure is topped with a ‘living roof’ which will soon be home to healthy vegetation, with the aim of attracting insects and wildlife.  

Other sustainable features include natural ventilation with an innovative heat recovery system, low-energy heating and a unique eco-friendly lighting system designed by Barker and Stonehouse.

Managing director James Barker said: “We are always striving to introduce and invest in the latest innovations. The new Knaresborough store is an example of this and will result in an improved customer experience. “Customers told us they wanted more responsible retailing and we’ve invested heavily to meet this demand.”

We say “Bravo!” to Barker and Stonehouse, and wish them well! 

If you have a project that could benefit from heat recovery ventilation or assistance with energy savings or sustainability, please contact us.

28/03/13 - Passivhaus Primary School wins awards

We talk a lot about our self builders and their interesting and energy efficient homes, but heat recovery ventilation can also play a big part in large, public buildings. We were delighted to read that the first primary school to achieve Passivhaus standards, has recently won awards for its sustainability, design and outstanding energy efficiency.

Bushbury Hill Primary School, in Wolverhampton, was designed by local architects, Architype, and has won both a RIBA Architecture and a Sustainbility Award and 'New Build Project of the Year (Value up to £5 million)' at the CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) Awards this month.

In addition to superb energy efficiency, and the associated environmental benefits, an added bonus is that schoolchildren’s concentration levels will be better as a result of the design. Overheated and stuffy classrooms are often cited as key contributors to children’s drowsiness and lack of focus. But in Bushbury Hill Primary School, the provision of a heat-recovery ventilation system will hopefully lead to happier and more alert children.

Mark Lumley, director at Architype, explains, "The brief was to provide a one and a half form entry primary school that would reflect the schools ethos; providing a high quality educational standard to children from one of the tough estates near the school.

“The technical demands of Passivhaus were integrated from first principles. Design steps focused on maximising natural daylight, increasing solar gain, achieving rigorous Passivhaus airtightness and a thermal bridge free timber load bearing structure.

“Passivhaus offers credible and genuine benefit to users and the environment, including: minimised energy consumption; avoidance of building defects that can lead to mould growth; excellent standards of thermal comfort (satisfying ASHRAE55 and according with EN7730); minimised energy bills; high standards of indoor air quality; and optimised lifecycle costs.”

We applaud the commitment and design talents that have gone into making this school such a success, and delighted to demonstrate that by rationalising building form and simplifying detailing and systems, even including energy saving technologies, such as heat recovery ventilation,  Passivhaus is achieved within the standard available budget.

If you are interested in how heat recovery ventilation can help you achieve Passivhaus standards, please contact our team.