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Passive House Design – Tailored Architecture
What is a passive house?
How to define a Passive House?
“A Passive House is a building, for which thermal comfort (ISO 7730) can be achieved solely by post-heating or post-cooling of the fresh air mass, which is required to achieve sufficient indoor air quality conditions – without the need for additional recirculation of air.” – Passive House Institute
Passive House is a fundamental design and construction approach that utilises principles of building physics to ensure superior energy efficiency and occupancy thermal comfort.
All buildings generate carbon emissions during their whole live cycle. The specific Passive House measures reduce the operation energy required thus vastly reducing carbon emissions. A Passive House is meticulously designed through energy modeling around five key principles.
Superinsulated envelopes
High-performance glazing
Heat recovery ventilation
Airtight construction
Thermal-bridge-free detailing
Explore Passive House further at Passive House Trust UK and Passive House Institute
As a Certified Passive House Designer in Cambridgeshire Rob Bracey and Tailored Architecture are committed to climate-conscious architectural design. Adopting Passive House principles enables us to deliver low-energy contemporary housing fit for a environmental future.
All of our projects aim to comply with stringent energy targets and strategies in both operational and embodied carbon to achieve an environmentally lightest-touch building. We have developed strategies to follow the guidance below to achieve your project’s aims and sustainability goals.
RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge.
LETI climate design guidance
Passivhaus design principles
Sustainability is the bedrock of our design, construction, and development process. Using low-energy and passive design principles we develop energy efficient houses which are environmentally responsible.
Project Spotlight
New House Farm
Low-energy Passive House – South Cambridgeshire
Agricultural form and materials, contemporary timeless aesthetics, modern living.
Conceived as a low-energy contemporary barn-style home, New House Farm, fuses the traditions of agricultural form and contemporary timeless aesthetics. Effortlessly blending into the landscape forming the backdrop to modern life. Tailored Architecture has deployed the principles of Passive House and low-carbon technologies establishing a home for an environmental future.
Predicted Space Heating Cost
£37 per month*
See project Energy Metrics for further information
Project Spotlight
New House Farm
Low-energy Passive House – South Cambridgeshire
Agricultural form and materials, contemporary timeless aesthetics, modern living.
Conceived as a low-energy contemporary barn-style home, New House Farm, fuses the traditions of agricultural form and contemporary timeless aesthetics. Effortlessly blending into the landscape forming the backdrop to modern life. Tailored Architecture has deployed the principles of Passive House and low-carbon technologies establishing a home for an environmental future.
Predicted Space Heating Cost
£37 per month*
See project Energy Metrics for further information
Our Passive House design approach.
As a practice, Tailored Architecture is committed to sustainable design we adopted the six design principles of energy conservation. These incorporate the Passive House principles. Every project we undertake abide by these principles to provide you with the most energy-efficient and light-touch environmental building possible.
Building form
Building form is always derived directly from the site context, with considerations taken to minimise the overall surface area of the thermal envelope. A dense and efficient form and massing reduces the heat loss minimising the required heat demand and emissions.
Solar access
Solar gains are considered to maximise the winter warmth available reducing overall heat demand. Careful design of window openings and potential solar shading in the form of sliding screens and horizontal canopies will be deployed to reduce risks of overheating in summer. Natural ventilation will be use for summer time cooling avoiding the use of mechanical comfort cooling.
Fabric first
All buildings are designed with enhanced building fabric to lower the required heating demand, also coupled with airtightness to further reduce heat losses. This allows for a smaller heating plant to be installed reducing overall emissions.
Embodied carbon
Materials and construction methods where possible will be chosen to limit their embodied carbon emissions.
Low carbon heating systems and renewable technologies
Enhanced building fabric and careful inclusion of controlled solar access allows for the installation and operation of an low-carbon heating systems for example heat-pumps. This will reduce the overall heating impact of the proposed dwelling. Battery storage is to be considered to provide electrical storage reducing the impact of peak energy use.
Deconstruction and re-use
Consideration of the materials and construction methods used to allow for deconstruction and reuse in their current form. Reducing the disposal element of construction and energy intensive recycling processes.