First Passivhaus in Hackney unveiled
Warm welcome: the two-storey Passivhaus reuses heat from the inside. Photograph: Alex Sargison
The doors of Hackney’s first ever Passivhaus were opened to the public today as part of this weekend’s Passivhaus Open Days.
The eco-friendly, low-energy house on Lansdowne Drive retains warmth so well it can be heated with just two towel rails.
“A Passivhaus is like a normal house that has a very nice duvet around it to keep it warm and a ventilation system that reuses the heat inside to heat the air from outside,” explained Bernard Tulkens of Tectonics Architects.
The two-bedroom dwelling costs only £170 a year in energy bills, according to its designers.
The 100m2 house is insulated with a breathable wood fibre that absorbs heat, keeping warm air inside in the winter and blocking out hot air in the summer.
The low-energy building is one of only five in London and a first for the borough, in which about one in twelve (8.1 per cent) of households suffer from fuel poverty.
Yogini Patel, Design & Research Associate of the Passivhaus Trust Team, told the Hackney Citizen the project was particularly significant because of the difficult nature of the grounds.
“It’s built on a tight urban site in a conservation area with restricted south facades and large amounts of west facing windows, which can result in high heat losses.
“This scheme proves achieving Passivhaus certification on a challenging site with a beautiful quality design can be done,” she said.
A Passivhaus can consist of any type of building, but it must pass strict calculations on its energy efficiency to achieve accreditation.
The designs combine energy efficiency with high levels of insulation and draft-free construction, reducing heating bills by approximately 90 per cent.
They also avoid condensation and damp, reduce noise, stabilise temperatures and ensure good air quality.
Downstairs: two bedrooms, a bathroom and entrance hall. Photograph: Alex Sargison
Upstairs: open-plan living room. Photograph: Adrian Wolfson
A view of the living room. Photograph: Adrian Wolfson