Is Passivhaus the future of the UK social housing scheme?
Zhao, Jill
Authors
Dr. Jill Zhao Jill.Zhao@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Construction Technology
Abstract
In order to meet the SDGs, new buildings, as well as retrofitted buildings, are developed to an increasingly higher environmental performance standard in both private and social sectors. This has been reflected in a higher standard for thermal performance specification in building regulations, as well as the increased adoption of energy efficiency focused building methodologies. Passivhaus standard, among others, has been slowly gaining popularity amongst local authorities in the UK. Last decade has seen a growing number of social & affordable housing developments designed to achieve Passivhaus standard. Yet the social, technical and economic barriers to more widely adopt this low energy building methodology as social housing model are still under explored.
Previous research identified cost, material and manufacturer, construction knowledge, as well as the performance gap to be some of the main barriers in delivering Passivhaus projects in general. However, it is unclear if these apply to social housing sector, or if other factors have more prominent effect on delivering social housing Passivhaus schemes. This paper reports on preliminary findings of a newly completed Passivhaus project in Lincolnshire with 8 units of households, in terms of its procurement, design, construction, and post occupancy evaluation. The investigation explores Passivhaus methodology from the perspectives of local authority, design and construction team, and the users’ behaviour and experience, in order to identify the barriers and opportunities in key design, procurement and operational stages of delivering social housing Passivhaus project.
