Passive gains
Is optimising the design of a building the best way to meet carbon reduction goals, asks Steve Cowan, senior sustainability consultant for Buro Happold.
As part of a multilateral effort to reduce the effects of global warming and halt the onset of fuel poverty, the government is looking towards legislation to make all new homes zero carbon by 2016, through progressive and substantial tightening of the energy efficiency requirements of the building regulations.
While low and zero carbon energy sources will undoubtedly have a major role to play in delivering these aims, the importance of optimising the design of a building for maximum passive performance cannot be underestimated - and indeed is arguably even more critical. There is a fine balance to be achieved between good, fundamental passive housing design and the use of renewable energy technologies.
“Designing sustainable low energy housing shouldn’t just be about meeting policy and regulations, we need to provide comfortable homes for people to live in and stop the onset of fuel poverty.”
Taking this to extremes, the ‘Passivhaus’ system works by maximising a building’s envelope performance and almost omitting space heating demands, albeit incurring significant capital cost increases per dwelling. Could a more sustainable compromise, both economically and environmentally, be to combine tighter envelope design and construction with the use of renewable energy technologies?
Arguably, this is being achieved at this autumn’s Scotland’s Housing Expo, a first for Scotland. This unique event, which is based upon similar models found in mainland Europe, involves the construction of a showcase development of low-energy sustainable dwellings which in time will become a ‘living’ community.
Buro Happold has a unique insight into the Expo, as we are currently involved in seven of the 27 plots. Through a variety of concepts and strategies, the design of the plots aims to be innovative, reduce carbon emissions and diminish the possibility of fuel poverty (through reduced energy running costs).
Architects HLM’s Passivhaus design aims to test the principles of this design strategy and Buro Happold will be involved in post occupancy evaluation of their dwellings to assess the level of success.
Other projects Buro Happold is involved in include technologies such as wood burning stoves, air source heat pumps, solar thermal panels and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (coupled with highly airtight construction).
Technologies such as these are vital to drag the housing sector forward and stop the onset of fuel poverty. From this mix of different and noteworthy initiatives we will be able to build up a picture of the best route forward for low carbon housing, environmentally, socially and economically, in advance of the looming 2016 deadline.
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