News

PASSIVE HOMES

My wife and I a couple of years ago purchased a new house as part of a plan to downsize. We were empty nesters and in a large house with a large garden and spending a lot of time cleaning, trimming, sweeping, raking, painting, mowing etc and so it was time to remove some of the shackles of weekend chores.

But it is also opened the opportunity to what sort of accommodation would suit and if we were to buy and renovate something smaller, could we incorporate design to limit the cost of living (energy and water needed) and build in efficiencies to save labour.

Research has opened our eyes to a new world of opportunity and I would encourage everyone to look at passive house design. In very simple terms we have been able to leverage natures free resources (think sun and breezes) to slash our energy needs (significantly reducing energy bills maybe to zero), enhance our comfort year round (22 degrees inside all day every day), minimise our environmental impact and a better lifestyle.

It is a bit too simple to summarise to four points but the key ingredients are: no air leaks, great insulation, thermal mass and north facing windows.

I am happy to discuss passive house design if anyone is interested. As we get towards the very cool months I think it has so many benefits. Importantly however it does also relate to the service WSS offers. We want to help with finding the best solution in water supply that minimizes energy requirements, minimizes labour input (automation), is robust and reliable and makes life easier.

Kind regards, Jack