Installing a cellulose-filled insulation panel onto the oak frame of Woodlands Malvern B&B passive house Passivhaus (passive house) is a remarkably simple, ‘low-tech’ approach that is, globally, the gold standard of building energy efficiency. This is due to its ‘fabric first’ approach: this maximises the performance of the materials used for a building at the design stage before considering the use of ‘high-tech’ systems and equipment, and which therefore reduces both up-front and running costs. ‘Passive houses’ have been around for thousands of years The time-honoured ‘passive house’ pr ..read more

Installing a cellulose-filled insulation panel onto the oak frame of Woodlands Malvern B&B passive house Passivhaus (passive house) is a remarkably simple, ‘low-tech’ approach that is, globally, the gold standard of building energy efficiency. This is due to its ‘fabric first’ approach: this maximises the performance of the materials used for a building at the design stage before considering the use of ‘high-tech’ systems and equipment, and which therefore reduces both up-front and running costs. ‘Passive houses’ have been around for thousands of years The time-honoured ‘passive house’ pr ..read more

Passivhaus (passive house) buildings are some of the most energy-efficient worldwide. Designed to minimise energy use for both heating and cooling, they are also fantastically comfortable places to live all-year round. We’ve written elsewhere about our experiences of self-building and living in our certified, award-winning passive house; here we look at the advantages and disadvantages of passive houses and how much more expensive they are to build (spoiler alert: not very much). Passive house advantages Passive house comfort that’s unequalled Having lived in a certified Passivhaus for five y ..read more

Relative humidity (RH) and indoor and outdoor temperatures at Woodlands recorded at 30-minute intervals over 2022, including the July heatwave and the December cold snap. RH remained mostly within the ‘ideal range’ and indoor temperatures remained within a narrow, comfortable range whatever was going on outdoors, with minimal need for additional heating or cooling Here, we look at some things to consider if you are thinking of retrofitting an existing home to achieve Passivhaus or near-passive house performance, that is, excellent indoor comfort and air quality, and very small heating bills ..read more

Choosing the plot for your self-build home is the most important step in the whole process. No matter how wonderful the house, if the plot is in the wrong area or the views aren’t right, or there’s some other problem then, unlike fairy tale endings, you probably won’t live happily ever after. And whilst a self-build project needs a budget, the chicken-and-egg problem is you’re unlikely to know how much your ideal plot will cost (don’t forget legal and other fees), and you can’t fully design your house, and thus know its likely cost, until you have your plot. To deal with this you will need a ..read more

High energy prices seem to be here for a long time to come (perhaps permanently), and it now seems more likely than not that we’ll break through the 1.5°C Paris Agreement global heating limit. And with buildings and construction accounting for about one third of energy demand in 2021, how can we encourage people to think about ways of reducing the need for energy - principally for heating and cooling - in our homes? Ultimately, we’ll only significantly improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock with adequate government support to incentivise the building industry and the supplier ..read more

Indoor and outdoor temperatures at Woodlands Malvern B&B during 2023 Most new-build, and many existing, houses can be made highly energy efficient. The gold standard for this is Passivhaus (passive house), providing such buildings with top quality indoor environments and minimal heating and cooling costs. We have now lived in a certified, self-build Passivhaus for five years. We would say that the continuous thermal comfort (irrespective of the time of year — see the graph above), coupled with a constant supply of 100% fresh air, and a total absence of draughts, providing a tranquil, rela ..read more

Stay at Woodlands Malvern B&B: we’ll be pleased to share our experiences of self-building and living in our award-winning certified passive house.   Experience the draught-free, evenly warm-in-winter-cool-in-summer, always-fresh atmosphere. Enjoy the light, airy, restful character of a passive house. Try to hear the mechanical ventilation heat recovery system in your bedroom; we don’t think you will.   And don’t just come to experience the Passivhaus difference: enjoy a break in the stunning Malvern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty where there is plenty to see and do, an ..read more

A very high level of airtightness is a key component of an energy efficient building. Such buildings therefore also require a good quality mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) system to (i) provide an extremely high indoor air quality, and (ii) avoid surface and interstitial condensation. Like a number of items in many homes, an MVHR unit requires servicing, and, mostly, this is extremely simple and can be done by the owner. Here, we describe the main servicing needed: the five-minute six-monthly job of cleaning/replacing the air filters with the MVHR unit we have — a Zehnder Comfoair ..read more

High-performing insulation panel fitted on the outside of the oak frame of our certified passive house Properly designed and built Passivhaus buildings maintain exceptional thermal comfort and air quality throughout, at all times of the year, and with minimal need for space heating. We described in another post our experiences of living in a passive house after two-and-a-half years; now after some five years it’s still the same: a tranquil environment that’s always consistently comfortable and fresh, with the added bonus of minute heating bills. Passive house: key principles The foremost Pass ..read more