News: Bramall joins Passivhaus Trust

Rotherham social housing contractor Bramall Construction has become a founder member of the Passivhaus Trust.

Following decades of success on the European mainland, Passivhaus is coming of age in the UK. A newly launched advice and lobbying body, the Passivhaus Trust, will be the front line of Passivhaus promotion in the UK.

It is backed by a group of founder members committed to supporting the Passivhaus approach to constructing ultra low carbon buildings.

Passivhaus is a design methodology for ultra low-energy buildings, promoted by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. There are about 12,500 Passivhaus buildings worldwide, the vast majority of them in Germany and Austria, and the approach is rapidly growing in popularity in the UK as developers and designers consider their options to meet the Government's zero carbon targets.

Neil Cutland, a director of the Passivhaus Trust, said: "There is phenomenal interest in Passivhaus around the world as a robust, proven and cost-effective way to help us cut carbon within the built environment.

"The Trust will be the guardian of the Passivhaus standards in the UK. Members will have access to the latest technical developments and research, written in English for a UK market, and significant support to help implement the standards in their projects."

There are more than 50 Passivhaus projects underway in the UK, and many more designed using Passivhaus principles generally. Passivhaus buildings achieve approximately a 75% reduction in space heating requirements, compared to standard practice for UK new build.

Bramall is working on site to build what are thought to be the first rural Passivhaus accredited homes in the UK at Wimbish, Essex. This 14 dwelling development for Hastoe, an independent registered housing association, follows classic Passivhaus principles of design, specification and construction but adapted for the UK and to allow simultaneous compliance with Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Bramall is already building zero carbon homes to Level 6 of the Code for less than £130,000. They also recently completed one of the UK's largest zero carbon developments in Slough, Berkshire.

Bramall Construction website
Passivhaus Trust website

Images: Bramall