The Old Water Tower
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as PDF The Old Water Tower is a certified Passivhaus dwelling designed by Passivhaus Trust member Gresford Architects, and has been designed to reflect the local rural vernacular.The dwelling follows a traditional layout with bedrooms on the upper floor and living spaces on the ground floor. To create a feeling of space, the bedrooms expand into the roof space, except for the guest room which houses the plant room above it.To minimise the overheating risk, external blinds have been installed on the east, south and west elevations and operate automatically when the internal temperature of the house goes above 21C.
The Old Water Tower : Project images
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Energy and fuel use
Measured data from renewable generation is not yet available.
Fuel use
| Pre-development | Forecast | Measured | |
| Electricity use | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas use | - | - | - |
| Oil use | - | - | - |
| LPG use | - | - | - |
| Wood use | - | - | - |
| Other Fuel | - | - | - |
| Pre-development | Forecast | Measured | |
| Primary energy requirement | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual CO₂ emissions | - | - | - |
| Annual space heat demand | - | - | - |
Renewable energy
| Electricity generation | Forecast | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Renewables Technology | - | - |
| Other Renewables Tech | - | - |
| Electricity consumed by generation | - | - |
| Primary energy requirement offset by renewable generation | - | - |
| Annual CO₂ emissions offset by renewable generation | - | - |
Calculation and targets
| Whole house energy calculation method | |
|---|---|
| Other whole house calculation method | - |
| Energy target | PassivHaus |
| Other energy targets | - |
| Forecast heating load | - |
Airtightness
| Date | Result | |
| Pre-development air permeability test | - | - |
|---|---|---|
| Final air permeability test | - | - |
Project description
| Stage | Occupied |
|---|---|
| Start date | |
| Occupation date | 01 October 2015 |
| Location | Chieveley Berkshire England |
| Build type | New build |
| Building sector | Private Residential |
| Property type | Detached |
| Construction type | Softwood frame |
| Other construction type | |
| Party wall construction | |
| Floor area | 200 m² |
| Floor area calculation method | Approximate Floor Area |
| Building certification |  Passivhaus certified building |
Project Team
| Organisation | TPWG Ltd |
|---|---|
| Project lead person | Trunk Low Energy Building (Project management) |
| Landlord or Client | TPWG Ltd |
| Architect | Gresford Architects Ltd. |
| Mechanical & electrical consultant | Crofton Design Ltd. |
| Energy consultant | Green Building Store (MVHR) |
| Structural engineer | Tanner Structural Designs Ltd. |
| Quantity surveyor | |
| Consultant | Francisco Cerezuela (Passivhaus designer) |
| Contractor | MBC Timber Frame |
Design strategies
| Planned occupancy | |
|---|---|
| Space heating strategy | |
| Water heating strategy | |
| Fuel strategy | |
| Renewable energy strategy | |
| Passive Solar strategy | |
| Space cooling strategy | |
| Daylighting strategy | |
| Ventilation strategy | |
| Airtightness strategy | |
| Strategy for minimising thermal bridges | |
| Modelling strategy | |
| Insulation strategy | |
| Other relevant retrofit strategies | |
| Contextual information |
Building services
| Occupancy | |
|---|---|
| Space heating | Worcester 12i LPG boiler supplying one radiator to each room and towel rail to each bathroom.300L horizontal hot water cylinder. |
| Hot water | |
| Ventilation | Paul Novus 300 MVHR heat recovery ventilation system 88.7% Final effective heat recoveryefficiency. |
| Controls | |
| Cooking | |
| Lighting | |
| Appliances | |
| Renewable energy generation system | |
| Strategy for minimising thermal bridges |
Building construction
| Storeys | |
|---|---|
| Volume | - |
| Thermal fabric area | - |
| Roof description | Rheinzink prePATINA graphite grey double standing seam onto 22mm plywood sheeting, 44mm battens fixed through to joists, Ampatop Protecta plus roof membrane, 500mm twin timber stud warm roof fulfilled with Springvale Ecobead Platinum insulation, Siga Majpell vapour control and airtight layer, 15mm OSB class 3 board, 45mm service cavity fulfilled with mineral wool insulation, 12.5mm plasterboard with 3mm skim coat finish. |
| Roof U-value | 0.07 W/m² K |
| Walls description | 34mm Piveteaubois Pulso vertical timber cladding on battens and counter battens, Glidevale Protect TF200 breather membrane, 12mm Medite Vent MDF panel, 400mm twin timber stud with Springvale Ecobead Platinum insulation, Siga Majpell vapour control and airtight layer, 15mm OSB class 3 board, 45mm service cavity fulfilledwith mineral wool insulation, 12.5mm plasterboard with 3mm skim coat finish. |
| Walls U-value | 0.85 W/m² K |
| Party walls description | |
| Party walls U-value | - |
| Floor description | 400mm KORE Floor EPS100 white insulation (EPS300 to perimeter) under 100mm reinforcedconcrete slab |
| Floor U-value | 0.09 W/m² K |
| Glazed doors description | Ideal Combi Futura+ sliding doors, IdealCombi Nation doors |
| Glazed doors U-value | 1.00 W/m² K installed |
| Opaque doors description | |
| Opaque doors U-value | - - |
| Windows description | Ideal Combi Futura+i turn/tilt and fixed windows, |
| Windows U-value | 1.00 W/m² K - |
| Windows energy transmittance (G-value) | 0.49 % |
| Windows light transmittance | - |
| Rooflights description | |
| Rooflights light transmittance | - |
| Rooflights U-value | - |