Can I fit a heat pump? What do I need to know?

At the start of 2022 we finally got rid of the gas supply to our home, and retrofitted an air source heat pump. With the high proportion of renewables in grid electricity now, this has led to an absolutely huge cut in our household carbon emissions, and we are delighted with how it has performed so far.

picture of a heat pump
Our Mitsubishi Ecodan

While we were planning this, I wanted to know more about what the process entailed and what we would need to think about – so I decided to write an article about it. I learned so much that I ended up writing a two-parter. Continue reading “Can I fit a heat pump? What do I need to know?”

What is thermal bypass, and why does it matter?

I am greatly indebted to the meticulous working and thinking of architect Mark Siddall (LEAP architecture) here. He’s been talking about thermal bypass for a while, so I asked him to walk me through the basics.

What the term ‘thermal bypass’ means is cold air (usually cold – though of course in summer it could be too hot instead) washing through building fabric, and undermining the thermal performance.

This means that in winter, cold air may be moving around in the walls and roof and taking heat from indoors, even if it doesn’t actually break through any air barriers. A classic example is when insulation is loosely bunged into a cavity, and warm air behind the inner leaf is drawn away and replaced with cold, when it should be held snug against the fabric.

My interview with Mark and some explanations and examples were written up for SIGA, and you can read them here.

A healthy retrofit scheme for London residents

The original houses, with the new build homes beyond

A sensitive development of social housing in Lambeth combines three new passive houses with six low energy flats carefully created inside an old Victorian terrace. With the emphasis on good indoor air quality, residents are already reporting improvements in health & well-being since moving from their old accommodation.

 

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Post-war housing retrofit

How to save social housing blocks

The colourful timber -built external cladding in place on the block at Parkview

Post-war social housing blocks are often seen as both ugly and uncomfortable. They frequently suffer from high energy bills, damp and mould. But three ambitious renovation projects show the answer doesn’t always lie in demolition. Oct 2015

 

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Victorian Passive Retrofit

Sensitive passive retrofit transforms Victorian North London home

The all-new, Victorian-feel facade of this deep deep retrofit

Upgrading a historic home to the passive house standard typically means leaving the façade untouched to preserve the building’s historic appearance, but the team behind this fully passive retrofit in Kensal Green took a totally different approach. Oct 2016

 

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Community deep retrofit

Working with design consultancy URBED, Manchester-based community energy group Carbon Co-op has pioneered a way of supporting ‘able-to-pay’ homeowners to invest in making their homes warmer and more comfortable – while reducing their energy use by around half.

By upgrading the fabric of homes and adding PV panels, cuts of 40-60% or more were made in  energy consumption and emissions and £1,000/year was knocked off bills, at a level of capital spending that homeowners were willing and able to invest. Continue reading “Community deep retrofit”

Archive keeps its cool the Passivhaus way

Hereford archive chooses passive preservation

Hereford County Archive

Safeguarding historic documents and other artefacts requires super-stable environmental conditions. This has usually been achieved by using masses of expensive and energy-hogging heating and cooling plant, but a new approach for Herefordshire Council used the passive house approach to conserve energy, money — and the county’s precious historical archives. Nov 2015

 

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‘Icebox’ modern house gets cosy makeover

1960s ‘icebox’ transformed into warm and bright eco home

Generous insulation behind timber boards on this 60s retrofit

 

A deep retrofit of this 1960s block-built home turned it into a modern ultra low-energy home that emphasises wood, light and natural materials. Aug 2016

 

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Passive school learning refines the design

Building a better passive school

Wilkinson School, Wolverhampton

The team behind a series of passive house schools in Wolverhampton have used the lessons learned from in-depth monitoring of the first two buildings to make the third even better — and cheaper to build. Oct 2015

 

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Cold is not the whole story – what the health services need to know about housing

An AECB consultation response

This document was written in response to a NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) 2014 consultation on producing guidelines for health authorities on tackling excess winter deaths and illnesses. It was written (mainly) by me, on behalf of the AECB, teaming up with Severn Wye Energy Agency and the STBA (Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance) – who also contributed information.

While at the time of this consultation the deleterious impact of cold living conditions on health were well known – prompting the consultation – poor indoor air quality was less discussed.

Yet of course, air quality can be very poor in cold homes: people will block out any draughts they can – including the intended fresh air supply from a ventilation fan or vent – especially if they are in fuel poverty. This only increases the risk of condensation and mould – already high in a dwelling with cold, uninsulated surfaces. And more and more evidence is piling up of just how bad mould in particular is for people’s health and wellbeing. Continue reading “Cold is not the whole story – what the health services need to know about housing”