Active Grand Designs role for Fife passive house specialist
A Rosyth firm features on tonight's episode of Grand Designs.
The passive house featured in tonight's programme.
- By Leeza Clark
- Published in the Courier : 22.09.10
- Published online : 22.09.10 @ 02.17pm
The Channel 4 show will feature the Scottish Passive House Centre (SPHC) and follow the progress of England's first accredited passive house, built in consultation with, and certified by, the SPHC.
Passive house standards mean houses are effectively airtight and require no conventional heating — a principle of building that the Scottish Passive House Centre is now promoting to architects, planners and builders in a bid to keep new homes environmentally friendly and much cheaper to run.
Chief executive Thomas Froehlich said, "It was fantastic to be involved in such a large-scale, unique project, especially as the TV cameras were following progress at each stage.
"The house is built underneath a ruined 300-year-old barn but is fully accredited to passive house standards which are the most modern, energy-efficient in Europe."
The SPHC team — who also picked up a Green Business Fife Award earlier this year — advised the architect throughout the project and were interviewed by presenter Kevin McCloud for the show.
The company has been very influential in the implementation and development of the passive house standard in the UK including affordable housing and innovative designs at Scotland's Housing Expo.
Only last month architects, building contractors and council property officers visited the Rosyth centre to see the passive house principal in action. They got a hands-on approach to this type of building, seeing the showhouse which demonstrates design principles which can provide year-round comfort without active heating or cooling.
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