Grand Designs Extras House Of The Future

Date Published:

06/11/2008

With rising energy costs high on the agenda, one couple chose the perfect time to build a cutting-edge passivhaus on a one-acre plot north of dublin

Ten years ago, energy prices weren’t the hot topic they are today, so when Elaine Kennelly and Tom Murphy bought a bungalow on a one-acre plot, 30 minutes’ drive north of Dublin Airport, they didn’t expect to end up building a PassivHaus with probably the best energy rating in Ireland. Through solar gain, good insulation and high levels of air tightness, their cleverly designed new-build house heats and cools itself – hence passive – so it would be easy for the couple to be smug about the potential to slash their energy bills. In reality, however, it was their desire for comfort that initially drove their decision making.

‘We did it because we’re always cold,’ explains Elaine. ‘I would have the heating on constantly and the idea of a house that retained heat really appealed to me.’ Elaine and Tom had been living in Dublin, but both were from the country so the site’s rural setting was hugely attractive to them. The existing bungalow provided a home and also gave them the reassurance that they would one day be able to get planning permission to build afresh. ‘The plan was always to build a house; other than that we had no grand vision,’ says Tom.

An earlier foray into researching passive design by Tom had been rebuffed by Elaine. ‘The stuff I showed her was Seventies technology, black walls, thick concrete slabs, internal shutters for closing at night to keep the heat in. She didn’t like the look of that.’

Then, in December 2006, Elaine heard a radio programme about an architect who had built a PassivHaus in Ireland. ‘We went and saw it and said “OK”. The technology had moved on and it was now feasible, so we looked for builders in Ireland to build a PassivHaus,’ she recalls. ‘We couldn’t really find any, but came across German Eco Homes on the internet.’

Elaine arranged for Hermann Richter, the company’s managing director, to meet them at Dublin airport. ‘He brought over some samples, such as a cross section of a wall, to show us the theory,’ says Tom. ‘I was sold on one thing; when he explained the building concept of the house, he came at it from an engineering perspective. We didn’t really talk about aesthetics.’ Hermann swept away the couple’s remaining doubts, convincing them that if the calculations were done properly the concept would work. Software engineer Tom found this very appealing.

A subsequent visit to Germany confirmed a PassivHaus was right for them. ‘It was a dull and rainy day and we saw a PassivHaus and a low-energy house,’ says Elaine. ‘The PassivHaus was very warm and the low-energy house was comfortable, but it wasn’t warm enough for me. It sealed the deal for passive.’

Hermann’s enthusiasm is infectious. ‘It’s more comfortable to live in a PassivHaus than an ordinary house because the climatic situation is constant throughout the year – there are no cold walls and no draughts,’ he explains. ‘There is always fresh air because of the ventilation system, so you don’t have to open windows. It’s extremely healthy to live in a PassivHaus.’

Elaine and Tom’s home is built to the standard promoted by the German PassivHaus Institute and designed using its Planning Package, which enables the necessary calculations to be made at design stage. Their house differs in two key ways from the typical PassivHaus in Germany: the Irish climate is milder than German, so the insulation levels are lower, and the house is bigger at 3,300sqft with five bedrooms and three bathrooms.

This article was written by Roger Hunt, with photography by Thomas Stewart, and is taken from the December issue of Grand Designs magazine. If you would like to subscribe for as little as £9 then head here to find out more.

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