The tour of this retrofit to Passivhaus principals ran after the Hove ‘Passivhaus’ (new build) tour earlier in the day and it was great to again have so many enthusiastic attendees.
The June ’heatwave’ was a good opportunity to showcase the Internorm HV350 window and doors which have triple glazing and an integrated external blind enclosed in a further 4th pane of glass which really does dramatically reduce solar gain and help to negate overheating. The venetian blinds are operated by a small solar panel (so need for wiring) and the solar panel and blind unit can be simply removed for maintenance and replacement, a truly great solution all round. Note the photo shows the 4th pane open to provide access to the solar panel and blind.
While the retrofit demonstrated the strength of Passivhaus to truly deliver super low energy and comfortable buildings, it is clear that a cost versus benefit assessment in required on a case by case basis to optimise the benefits for a reasonable budget. Meeting the Passivhaus EnerPHit criteria will be unaffordable for the vast majority of homeowners and is likely not to be the best use of funds and materials to reduce carbon emissions, an issue the Passivhaus movement is still developing.
