WT4026 & WT4036 - 18246753

There is 3 criteria that must be met:  1. Space Heating Demand - Energy required to maintain indoor temperature of 20 degrees all year round. This refers to space heating only as it does not include hot water etc. it must be </ 15 kwh/m2/a. 2 Heating Load - Energy required to maintain indoor temperature of 20 degrees on a given day . It must be </ 10 w/m2. 3. Primary Energy demand - Total energy consumed for all requirements (Space heating, water, heating, electricity and ventilation). It must be </ 120 kwh/m2/a. A low primary energy demand ensures a low carbon footprint as energy generation using fossil fuels is kept to a minimum. Retrofitting - EverPHit Standard It is not always possible to bring older houses up to passive house standard. For this reason EverPHit standard was developed. It is slightly lower than Passive house standard. This allows for 10 air changes per hour / 25 kwh/m2/a. Passive house is 0.6/15. The advantages of this is reduced Co2 emissions, improve ...

I must also consider the design of my landing upstairs as at the moment its getting no natural light so I may decide to add a roof light or windows at the top of my stairs to attract some light into this area without using a lot of artificial light. I am going to look into possibly cutting a number of existing trees that current situated at the south side of my site which is defeating the purpose of maximizing solar gain. I may change these trees with a hedgerow to divide the development with bunding houses. I might change one of the glazing windows I have at the living area and replace it with a sliding door to exit the house onto a footpath and also to provide extra natural light. It would provide an extra exit point out of the home and also a clever idea and adds to the overall beauty of the home.

  I thought about open plan living in my design as there is big push for this type of living. Less energy is required and more space is optimized within the home. I connected the kitchen, dinning, and living room as one. I felt this will create a more interactive and friendly environment in the home as this are the most used rooms in the home. I firstly considered the orientation of the site and where south facing was to maximize solar gain. Once I discovered this I looked at adding the most glazing at the front of my house to get the most light to shine through the entire home. Triple glazed windows for optimizing solar gain. I have also allocated windows at the back of my house where my stairs are so for some light to shine down into the landing. I thought about the impact of having a utility towards the north west side of my house. It wouldn’t be the most used room however I still decided to put all glass doors at the entrance from the kitchen as the light from the glazing will ...

 Walls are a fundamental part of a building. a wall is a solid structure that rises vertically and distributes loads from the roof to the foundations. with regard to there structure of the building, walls can be classified into two types. Load bearing: These walls rest on foundations in order to spread the loads from the top of a wall, through the wall, to the ground. Non-load-bearing: These walls, which may or may not rest on foundations, are generally used to divide internal spaces between rooms. External Load-bearing walls need to sit on a foundation. These walls take the weight of the roof and must therefore distribute loads to the foundations. The main function of an external wall is to prevent moisture penetrating through to the inner surface.  Cavity walls: The most common and modern method is using two walls with a cavity between them. Moisture is absorbed by the outer leaf but the cavity prevents this moisture from reaching the inner leaf. The inner leaf of a cavity w...

  The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. However, it is also worth remembering that, even outside the equatorial regions, in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere winter the sun rises south of east and in the summer it rises north of east. This means that in summer the north face of a building in these regions might be very briefly exposed to the sun, but in the winter the sun will never warm that building’s northern face. In the northern hemisphere, after rising, the sun will be seen traversing across the sky in the south. The reverse is true south of the equator. In our site south facing is facing towards the trees and bushes. Considering this is a passive house design its not really ideal for maximizing solar gain, however it will provide very good shading to prevent overheating. Site topography informs us about building location The topography which is the from of the land must be studied before you begin to design. if their are existing hills, valleys...

Sound is a form of energy that causes vibrations of the air which the ear detects. Sound energy can be transferred through the air or through a solid object:  Airborne sound travels through the air (eg: singing) Impact sound travels through a structure (eg: Knocking on a door) Sound Insulation Sound or acoustic insulation is the reduction of sound energy transmitted into an adjoining air space. Sound insulation is important in buildings where large numbers of people live and/or work in close proximity, for example apartment buildings or hotels. In home design it is unusual to consider sound insulation as a requirement for ordinary houses. the only requirement for sound insulation stated in the current building regulations relates to the prevention of noise through the party wall of a semi-detached or terraced house through the floor of a dwelling where the space below is part of another dwelling. The following minimum levels of sound insulation should be achieved:   Walls...

 MVHR is an alternative to natural ventilation. This system does not rely on the weather so it is more reliable. it uses ductwork to direct air around the dwelling. As this air is directed around the house it passes through a central unit, which heats the incoming fresh air using the outgoing warm stale air.  An MVHR system works by extracting air from certain rooms and supplying fresh air to others. The air that is extracted is warm indoor air from wet rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms - this air then passes through a heat exchanger which gives up the warmth from that air to the incoming fresh outdoor air. The incoming and exhaust air masses remain separate throughout and the “prewarmed” fresh outdoor air is then supplied to bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms etc. The central unit is designed to allow heat to exchange between ducts without allowing stale and fresh air to mix. Because there is ducting to each room, vents to the outside of the building are not necessary. t...

 Solar Gain Glazing must be optimized on the south façade with reduced glazing in the north. Position Habitable rooms such as the living room, dining room, children's bedroom in the south as large windows will provide a pleasant ambiance with good daylighting factors. Conversely, rooms where a view out and good daylight factors are not so important such as WCs, bathrooms, store rooms and building services can be placed on the north façade. Triple Glazing and Doors In more temperate climates such as parts of Southern European it is possible to achieve the Passivhaus standard using good quality double glazing. In the Ireland however Passivhaus buildings must use triple glazed windows; there are two main reasons for this:  1. To reduce unwanted heat losses through the window   2. To increase the surface temperature of the inner pane thereby reducing radiant the sensation of cold “draughts” from the glass and the possibility of mould growth.  Glazing suitable for us...

  Why do we build Houses? The simple answer is comfort, without buildings we would be living outdoors which isn't so pleasant in the cold winter months. Whilst we are staying indoors we also look for comfortable spaces and there are six key factors that contribute to a healthy and comfortable environment. Human comfort is essential for a healthy well being and lifestyle.  1. Thermal Comfort 2. Air quality and movement 3. Light 4. Sound 5. Electromagnetic fields 6. Ambience Thermal Comfort: Even though the Temperature outdoors is constantly changing the indoor temperature should be maintained at a steady level. Generally 18-20 degrees Celsius is comfortable for most people. Air Quality and movement: A constant supply of fresh clean air (with a humidity level between 35% and 55%) must be provided. There must be no draughts or air movement that would have a cooling effect on the people indoors. Light: The light levels outdoors varies from 10000 to 25000 lux on a typical over...

There are 2 fundamental approaches to building design. Active and Passive Design. Active design is burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas to provide comfortable living space. By burning these fossil fuels it provides the home with artificial light and heat to maintain a comfortable living environment. this has a major impact on the environment as it releases emissions within the atmosphere.  There is now a bigger push to increase a more suitable environment and by achieving this, there is more emphasis and passive design. Passive design is effectively solar gain which maximizes the heat from the sun and provides natural light into the home. this reduces the amount of energy used within a home and reduces the running cost. The necessary need for solar panels installed within the home is to take the heat from the sun and provide hot water in the home all year round. Orientation:   It is effectively designing a building that is facing the sun with large glazed windows to ...

Site Local areas that surround our site Population & Zoning Target The Mid West Regional Planning Guidelines 2010-2022 have allocated a population target of an additional 32,800 people for County Limerick up to the year 2022.  Population for the Mid-West will be allocated through this strategy and the information to hand at the time of the preparation of this plan sees the NPF allocating an additional 56,000 people to the Limerick City & Environs Area. This population allocation is to be divided between Limerick City and the Metropolitan areas of Castletroy, Dooradoyle and suburbs within the administrative boundary of Clare County Council but within the functional area of Limerick City. 12,320 population over the next 24 years resulting in: - 513 additional people in Castletroy per annum - 3,080 additional people in Castletroy over the plan period (6 years) - 1,232 houses required (on the basis of a household size of 2.5) - 30.8 hectares residential lands required over the ...