Here at AB Glass, we are proud to be working with contractor Kier on the first Passivhaus leisure centre to be built in the UK.
As such, we thought it was worth explaining what a Passivhaus building is exactly and why it is important – and even the future of building.
The Passivhaus concept was devised by Dr Wolfgang Feist who was concerned about the amount of energy that was consumed in buildings being much higher than originally predicted.
His idea was to create a building standard that is truly energy-efficient, comfortable and affordable. The first building built with these standards in mind was built some 25 years ago in Darmstadt, Germany.
The concept means that buildings must make efficient use of the sun, internal heat sources and heat recovery, making conventional heating sources unnecessary even in the coldest winters. It also means that buildings must have good indoor air quality, a ventilation system to supply fresh air and a low carbon footprint.
While the upfront cost of a Passivhaus building might be higher, they consume up to 90% less energy compared to a conventional building, dramatically reducing the whole life operational carbon emissions and running costs.
There are increasingly stringent standards and certification criteria around this form of building, which we support wholeheartedly.
Alan Brayley, our managing director, said: “The future of building must be more environmentally friendly and we would love to be involved in more projects of this nature in the future. We are delighted to be working on the first leisure centre to be built to these standards in Exeter and we would love to be part of more projects like this in the future.”
More about the Passivhaus concept can be found here: https://www.passivhaustrust.org.uk/