200 m^2 house is designed to ensure that the
rooms requiring the most heat – the living areas- are positioned and orientated to utilise solar
gain. The design placed windows in the ideal
locations to maximise daylight and reduce the
Martins’ dependence on artificial lighting. And
conversely, it includes as little north-facing
glazing as possible in order to minimise heat
loss during the winter months.
Also, the outside space is arranged to provide
a south-easterly facing garden at the back of the
house – David’s pride and joy – which receives
plentiful sunlight. The north-facing garden to the
front, strategically sheltered with existing
planting and structures, provides a cooler,
shaded area.
Along with triple-glazed windows, the walls,
floor and zinc-clad aluminium roof are super-
insulated, all exceeding the minimum
requirements of Building Regulations. This
insulation helps to regulate and stabilise the
internal temperature of the house by enveloping
the high thermal mass structure, which includes
concrete floors upstairs (result – no creaks). The
inside stays warm in winter and cool in summer
with minimal energy input.
There are no radiators, and underfloor heating
runs throughout the house. All of the ground
floor is tiled, and elsewhere it’s real wood
flooring except for two bedrooms, including the
master. “The underfloor heating was for
aesthetic reasons first and foremost,” says
David. “But the really pleasing thing is that the
heating is so uniform. You don’t go out of the
living room into the hall to be met by a blast of
freezing cold air, the temperature is ambient
throughout.”
There is also a 4 kWp array of solar panels on
the south-facing part of the roof. All these
measures ensure that the building achieved an
A-rated energy performance certificate (EPC),
has minimal running costs and minimal
associated CO 2 emissions.
When the final air test was undertaken, it
revealed that the building is an impressive 2.39
m^3 /h@50pa. Russell says that this is five times
better than the minimum required by Building
Regulations.“It was really quite
dif&cult to &nd
people who were
willing to come out
and price up what
is, for the area, an
unusual job”
HIGH POINT
“I love the fact that we’ve
got a fireplace in such a
modern house. I like to
decorate our home for
Christmas and although
we chose not to install an
actual fire – or chimney –
I have a mantle-shelf
which is great for a vase
of flowers, and gives us a
lovely focal point for
decorations.”
–Deanna Martin
september/october 2019 http://www.sbhonline.co.uk 63