The Trust team selects 2015 highlights

Another year wrapping up, another summary list. The Passivhaus Trust pick out some highlights of 2015 as we prepare to wave the year goodbye.

1.   

Celebrating the Trust’s 5^th anniversary.

5 years have flown by! This year we celebrated the Trust’s 5^th anniversary, or more accurately 6 years of Passivhaus projects in the UK. The total number of completed, certified units in the UK has increased to over 400, and the first project of over 50 units – Circle Housing’s Passive Close project in Rainham - was certified in June this year. Hopefully we’ll collectively have completed more than 500 units by the end of 2016, covering more than 100 sites across the UK.

 

2.   

The biggest UK Passivhaus Conference to date.

Passivhaus goes large. The conference theme focused upon the development of large-scale UK housing projects and the challenges this provides. The program offered an exciting and concentrated update of the latest developments and research within the UK Passivhaus movement over the past year. It was also the first year that the Passivhaus exhibition was opened to the public, creating a great conference buzz which we aim to build upon for next year.

 

3.   

Returning to the 1st UK Passivhaus Award winners.

The annual UK Passivhaus Awards always aims to celebrate and showcase exemplary Passivhaus projects across the country. As part of our 5^th-anniversary celebrations, we revisit the very first Award winners from 2012. Projects were probed for measured performance data over time to see if they were still operating as designed and expected…. If you missed it, you can learn more about the results here in 3 great short video features.

 

4.   

Launching a nationwide Student competition.

The Trust was involved in a pilot Passivhaus student competition titled: Developing a Passivhaus Masterplan for a UK town centre, sponsored by Tarmac. The 3 Universities involved have been very positive about the competition and we intend to launch the next competition at the 2016 UK Passivhaus Conference.

 

5.   

Green Party campaign for LA to adopt Passivhaus for new builds on council owned land.

Following on from the Trust’s 2014 policy lobbying, the Green Party have taken Passivhaus as a key part of their manifesto, and campaigned in 2015 for councils to make Passivhaus mandatory for all new builds on council owned land and for council funded schemes.

6.

COP21 - International Climate Objectives Agreed

COP 21. Is that really a highlight for 2015? Given the context of the UK Government abandoning many energy-related policies during 2015, then a global agreement that will at least set a direction of travel has to be a good thing. As usual though, this comes with many caveats, particularly concerns about potential overheating, ventilation and performance-gap risks in many non-Passivhaus low energy buildings. Overall, this can only strengthen the role of Passivhaus as a rigorous, proven standard for comfort and energy efficiency, so a positive end to a bleak policy year!

 

Here is peek of what we are looking forward to at the beginning of the new year:

• Natural ventilation v MVHR debate: Is it all a lot of hot air? Join us for our light hearted Christmas event in London on the 26 January.

• Masterclass: Avoiding overheating: Aimed at advanced & experienced Passivhaus Practioners who want to learn how to identify potential overheating risks and how to design to prevent them. Put the date in your diary - 15^th February in London. Spaces are limited.

• Ecobuild Passivhaus Trust Pavilion: We are excited to announce that in partnership with Ecobuild, the Trust will be organising a Passivhaus Trust Pavilion at the large eco exhibition in London this Spring. PHT members are encouraged to get involved and can get an exhibition stand at a discounted rate.

 

Merry Christmas, happy winter solstice and a happy new year.

We hope to see you soon.

17th December 2015

---