Skye Construction are committed to building both passive and energy efficient homes, we currently have two projects being built which will achieve passive certification by the end of 2010. Both projects have revived air tightness test results below .6 on there first tests.
Our Staff members have attended the European Passive designer and consultancy course ran by the passive house institute and have a full understanding of the passive house concept.
Skye can meet this demand by supplying our clients with a home that will deliver dramatically lower energy costs and carbon emissions.
Passive Houses are affordable, comfortable homes that meet the most rigorous building energy standard in the world. Far more than a checklist of green building options,
Passive House design is a state-of-the-art, systematic approach to super-efficient construction that reduces space heating and cooling loads by an amazing 90%. Developed in Germany 1n 1991 by Dr Wolfgang Feist, the Passive House standard puts true carbon-neutrality within reach.
The main passive house criteria are that the heating energy demand and useful coolong demand are limited to 15kWh/(m2a) and the primary energy demand for heating, ventilation, hot water and domestic electricity is limited to 120kWh/(m2a), the building heating load calculated according to the phpp is <10W/m2. The air tightness of the envelope must be tested using a pressurization test and the resulting air changes (n50-value) may not exceed 0.6/h. The excess temperature frequency should not be more than 10%, this means that the amount of hours in a year that the temperature exceeds 25`c should not be more than 10%.
The main advantages of a passive house are the improved air quality, increased internal light, low energy costs, prolonged building life, increased home value, reduced co2 emissions, comfortable living conditions and associated health benefits.
Today. Ten thousand Passive Houses have already been built in Europe, but this approach to home building has only very recently gained traction here in Ireland, our first certified passive house was constructed back in 2001 and since then there has only been a small number of projects certified. Skye are committed to promoting the passive house concept and hope to build many certified passive homes in the future.