Y Foel
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as PDF Y foel is the first building in the United Kingdom to achieve passivhaus certification. It is a self-build private house in Wales with visionary owners who commissioned JPW Construction to achieve passivhaus certification. The property is 2 or 3 bedroom.The construction is an external I beam timber frame with an internal core of earth block walls in the ground floor only, with Welsh slate floor slabs on 60% GGBS (ground granulated blastfurnace slag) in situ slab. The wall panels were fabricated on the in-situ slab on site and pivoted into position as the house has limited access. I beam A-frame roof trusses were built on site and lifted individually. By reducing the number of individual panels thermal bridging was also reduced at panel joins.
Y Foel : Project images
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Energy and fuel use
Measured data from renewable generation is not yet available.
Fuel use
| Pre-development | Forecast | Measured | |
| Electricity use | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas use | - | - | - |
| Oil use | - | - | - |
| LPG use | - | - | - |
| Wood use | - | - | - |
| Other Fuel | - | - | - |
| Pre-development | Forecast | Measured | |
| Primary energy requirement | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual CO₂ emissions | - | - | - |
| Annual space heat demand | - | - | - |
Renewable energy
| Electricity generation | Forecast | Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Renewables Technology | - | - |
| Other Renewables Tech | - | - |
| Electricity consumed by generation | - | - |
| Primary energy requirement offset by renewable generation | - | - |
| Annual CO₂ emissions offset by renewable generation | - | - |
Calculation and targets
| Whole house energy calculation method | |
|---|---|
| Other whole house calculation method | - |
| Energy target | PassivHaus |
| Other energy targets | - |
| Forecast heating load | - |
Airtightness
| Date | Result | |
| Pre-development air permeability test | - | - |
|---|---|---|
| Final air permeability test | - | - |
Project description
| Stage | Occupied |
|---|---|
| Start date | 01 April 2005 |
| Occupation date | 09 September 2009 |
| Location | Machynlleth Powys Wales |
| Build type | New build |
| Building sector | Private Residential |
| Property type | Detached |
| Construction type | Other |
| Other construction type | Diffutherm clad I-beam and OSB |
| Party wall construction | Earth block and timber studwork with plasterboard |
| Floor area | 99.52 m² |
| Floor area calculation method | Treated Floor Area (PHPP) |
| Building certification |  Passivhaus certified building |
Project Team
| Organisation | Mark Tiramani, Shirley Bose |
|---|---|
| Project lead person | Mark Tiramani, Shirley Bose |
| Landlord or Client | Mark Tiramani, Shirley Bose |
| Architect | JPW Construction |
| Mechanical & electrical consultant | JPW Construction, Mark Tiramani |
| Energy consultant | |
| Structural engineer | |
| Quantity surveyor | |
| Consultant | |
| Contractor |
Design strategies
| Planned occupancy | 2 adults working from home. |
|---|---|
| Space heating strategy | No fixed heating system. Portable oil-filled 0.9-2kW electric radiator. Portable bioethanol burners: 1kW and 2.5kW. |
| Water heating strategy | 60% via solar thermal with 220 litre twin coil insulated HW tank. 40% via 3kW electrical immersion heater. |
| Fuel strategy | LPG gas for most cooking. Electric oven. Biothenal top-up heat. |
| Renewable energy strategy | 2.5kW ground mounted PV array. 2.5kW wind turbine planned but not implemented. |
| Passive Solar strategy | South facing main glazing. Window proportions optimised using PHPP, but with emphasis on full height south east corner glazing. 40t internal thermal mass on the ground floor counters overheating potential and winter night-time heat loss. |
| Space cooling strategy | |
| Daylighting strategy | Large south and east glazing areas combined with a very open plan layout reduces artificial lighting to a minimum. |
| Ventilation strategy | Central mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. Openable windows for manual ventilation during roughly 40% of the year (MVHR off). |
| Airtightness strategy | |
| Strategy for minimising thermal bridges | |
| Modelling strategy | |
| Insulation strategy | |
| Other relevant retrofit strategies | |
| Contextual information |
Building services
| Occupancy | |
|---|---|
| Space heating | |
| Hot water | |
| Ventilation | |
| Controls | |
| Cooking | |
| Lighting | |
| Appliances | |
| Renewable energy generation system | |
| Strategy for minimising thermal bridges |
Building construction
| Storeys | |
|---|---|
| Volume | - |
| Thermal fabric area | - |
| Roof description | |
| Roof U-value | - |
| Walls description | |
| Walls U-value | - |
| Party walls description | |
| Party walls U-value | - |
| Floor description | |
| Floor U-value | - |
| Glazed doors description | |
| Glazed doors U-value | - - |
| Opaque doors description | |
| Opaque doors U-value | - - |
| Windows description | |
| Windows U-value | - - |
| Windows energy transmittance (G-value) | - |
| Windows light transmittance | - |
| Rooflights description | |
| Rooflights light transmittance | - |
| Rooflights U-value | - |