Events

If you haven't heard of a Passivhaus before, it's a very clever type of house that has heating bills of just a few hundred pounds a year. They're very highly insulated and airtight, and they have a system that captures heat generated in the house by solar gain, all your household appliances and day-to-day life, and redistributes it round the house. 

Passivhaus is a rigorous building standard, and this home in Crosby Ravensworth was the first-ever certified Passivhaus in Cumbria.

The home owners will be on hand to show you round, explain how it was built, how it works and what it's like to live in a Passivhaus.

Building started on the house in August 2014 and it was completed in May 2015, with Passivhaus certification following that August.  They aimed to use local suppliers and contractors whenever possible. The main contractor was Alan Brockbank, B&H Construction, based in Colby, and the insulated, airtight timber frame was built Eden Insulation, based in Appleby. (Join us for the Eden Insulation factory tour! See below)

The house achieved airtightness of 0.3 air changes per hour (better than the Passivhaus standard of 0.6). It uses a mechanical ventilation and heat recovery unit (MVHR - this is the clever device mentioned above that captures and redistributes heat). It's made by a company called Paul, supplied by Green Building Store.

There's additional heating by low temperature radiators fed from a Viessmann Vitocal 222 air-source heat pump, which also supplies the hot water. Backup heating is available from a Morso S11 wood-burning stove with external air supply.

There’s a 3.9kWp solar panel array on the south-facing roof. Lighting is LED throughout. The house has a masonry shell and slate roof.

In the 12 months to June 2016, the owners used 2,845 kWh of electricity, costing £470. Over the same period, they generated 3,643 kWh, paying them £576.

(Incidentally, you could even own this clever home, as it's on the market for sale!)

You can also visit the Eden Insulation factory in Appleby. Please book separately for this tour.

Thank you to these organisations, who are supporting this year's Cumbria Green Build Festival in various ways!