We had to design an affordable home of unparallel quality and high thermal efficiency from sustainable and environmentally friendly materials to meet the needs of the modern day family.

We carried out an exhaustive search to meet the demands of sustainable eco-friendly homes and to make full use of local employment opportunities and combined them with the basic principles of Scandinavian design.   

The solution was simple, we created open spaces with lots of natural light and we found the most modern and energy efficient materials available to ensure a new way of life that didn’t cost the earth!  Construction guidelines were used from the BRE (British Research Establishment) for the construction of passive homes.  http://www.passivhaus.org.uk/
Structural Insulated Panels form the frame of the building. Polyurethane Insulation is fused between two separate sheets of 15mm stirling board, the wall panels are 150mm thick inclusive of stirling boards and the roof panles are 180mm thick inclusive of stirling boards. Joints are filled with a expanding foam and faces are glued with an expanding polyurethane based adhesive. Joints are nailed every 50mm and internal joints wall joints are also sealed with a silicone sealant.
Timber windows with argon filled glazing units give us a u-value of 1.1 W/m2 K.
The internal walls are finished with a VC foil adding additional thermal efficiency on a 25mm cavity with 12mm plasterboard.  The kit is covered externally with a breathable membrane, by using a thermo barrier we are able to increase energy efficiency even further.
Concrete slabs with polystyrene insulation fused to the underside is used for the ground floor with underfloor heating tacked to an additional 16mm polystyrene bed on top of the concrete floor. A 50mm screed is added to protect the piping and to hold and transfer heat as required.
The roof panels are supported by 2 gluelam purlings and gluelam ridge beam enabling full use of the loft area for both storage and utilities.  The loft area is insulated with 100mm mineral wool to further enhance the efficiency of the living area.
The outer skin is constructed by 100mm aircrete blockwork on a thin bed adhesive with stainless twist ties inserted periodically after erection. A single coat render is applied although can be varied to suit a large variety of finishes.
Mechanical ventilated heat recovery is installed, withdrawing hot dirty air from the communal living areas and bathroom and transferring the wasted heat to fresh air from the underside of the ground floor before the hot fresh air enters the bedrooms.
Plasterbaord finishes are taped and filled before being completed with a natural linseed based clay paint. These paints are lead free and highly beneficial to healthy living.
Other additional benefits have been solid cored door and solid oak worktops, stainless steel appliances, downstairs wc, main bathroom upstairs with a separate shower. Additional water saving features have also been installed.
The future
We hope to increase the u-value of the windows to 0.8 W/m2 K, increase efficiency of the heat recovery unit to 90% and install a solar thermal hot water system that will also be incorporated into the heat recovery system.