A leaky fabric is no substitute for ventilation

In some corners of the construction community there is still a lurking belief that a leaky fabric is needed in order to ensure good indoor air quality.

But gaps and cracks are random, and the air flow through them, even more so. Believing a leaky fabric will contribute usefully to indoor air quality is an act of blind faith. Continue reading “A leaky fabric is no substitute for ventilation”

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.

 

Read the Article

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

 

Read the Article

Risks of Retrofit

A well-designed and well-executed retrofit will not only save energy, it should offer a more comfortable, healthier indoor environment, and protect the building fabric as well. However, there have been a number of warnings about what might go wrong – sometimes, even suggestions that in some instances retrofit measures should not be undertaken at all.

Are these warnings justified? What might go wrong? What is the evidence in practice? In this article, first published in Green Building in 2015, I look at some of the concerns, examine the reasons behind them, and suggest ways to protect building and occupants so retrofit really delivers.

Risks of retrofit – article from Green Building Magazine

 

Deep retrofit – the big prize?

Simple home energy efficiency improvements (such as new boilers, cavity wall insulation etc) can bring valuable comfort and health benefits to the occupants of inefficient homes – especially those in fuel poverty – as the last article revealed (see here). However, energy, carbon and bill savings tend to be modest, rarely topping 15% or 20% – and sometimes energy use actually increases!

If housing is to contribute its share of the 80% cuts in carbon emissions this country is committed to, in order to play is part in tackling climate change, retrofits will need to go deeper – a lot deeper. But will occupants benefit from the extra work? And is it affordable? Continue reading “Deep retrofit – the big prize?”

Fixing fuel poverty – is there a healthier way?

Fuel poverty causes misery and ill-health – and alleviating fuel poverty by retrofitting homes could potentially offer valuable savings to the health services. However, different approaches to retrofit are likely to have different impacts on health.

The first in this two-part series, published in Green Building in December 2014, looks at how cold, damp homes can harm people’s heath, and at the evidence to date that retrofit can improve matters.  It also explores some pioneering efforts by concerned health organisations to tackle the ill health of their vulnerable patients where it starts – by fixing their cold homes.

The second part, due to be published in Spring 2015, will look a little more closely at different retrofit strategies, and the risks and benefits to occupants – and to the buildings themselves.

PDF download: Fuel poverty and health – Part 1

Continue reading “Fixing fuel poverty – is there a healthier way?”

Ventilation – presentation for AECB

Slides from my presentation to the 2014 AECB annual conference on ‘Natural ventilation – does it work?’.

Download pdf – Natural Ventilation – talk for AECB 2014

Cold bridging, condensation & mould CSE
Failure of ventilation? Photo courtesy of the Centre for Sustainable Energy

For my article on the same subject, see this link:

Natural Ventilation: Does it Work? Article for Passive House Plus magazine

 

Overheating – how can we avoid it?

Jump straight to article in html Overheating – how can we avoid it?

There is a lot of concern that modern, airtight, well-insulated buildings might be more prone to overheating than older, leakier ones. However, the worst-offending buildings for overheating (and there are some shockers) are as often old as they are new. Overheating buildings just tend to be all-round bad buildings: often cold in winter, as well as hot in summer.

It looks as though buildings with too little insulation, too much glazing, not enough shading, and inadequate provision for purge ventilation are at risk of overheating – as are buildings with badly designed and inadequately insulated heating/hot water/community heat systems. Extravagant use of glazing, in particular, seems to have a great deal to answer for. Continue reading “Overheating – how can we avoid it?”

Overheating – how can we avoid it? – article from Green Building

This article originally appeared in Green Building, Spring 2014

“Everybody loves the summer time”, as Carole King once sang: everybody that is, except those who are separated from their sweethearts – and those sweltering in stifling buildings that they just can’t get cool.

At its worst, overheating can be a serious – even fatal – health issue, with the very elderly, and babies and small children most vulnerable, and heart attack, stroke, and sudden infant death all possible consequences. But much more commonly it is a discomfort issue, which can affect the usability of buildings, and/or drive people to deploy energy-consuming measures such as artificial cooling.

A building that cannot be cooled down to a comfortable temperature whatever you do is obviously overheating. One that cannot be cooled in a secure and comfortable way (eg, can only be cooled via opening window onto a busy road, or by leaving patio doors open at night), overheats so far as the occupants are concerned. Both are a failure on the part of the design and construction team. Continue reading “Overheating – how can we avoid it? – article from Green Building”