Self Build Passive House

November 3rd to December 3rd -2025-The total power consumption to heat the house excluding water heating was 184.11 KWh which equates to approximately 6 kwh per day to heat the house to the slightly higher temperature of 22 degrees in the main living area and the dining/kitchen room to 24 degrees 24 hours a day. Solar PV generated November =60kwh from the 3kw pv system. December 3rd to January…

Background– As previously discussed we had used two storage heaters to heat the house. The capital cost of this heating system wa €70. The passive house standard requires a heating load of approximately 1 Kwh for every 100m2 on the coldest day of the year. With the increase in energy prices and the slow pace of global warming the off peak electricity costs have risen from below 9 cents to its…

Selection of a Low cost heating system for a passive house. There are a number of options to heat a home when the energy efficiency is designed into the build from day one. This statement is particularly true when one aims for the passive house performance standard using the PHPP (passive house planning package) software. When we moved into the house one will see from a previous blog that we…

Solar PV for the self builder- Part 3

Tools and Software When planning a solar PV system there are free tools and apps that will help understand how to select your new PV system and how to maintain your existing Solar PV system. Tools and Software View Existing Solar PV Outputs-The free software provided by SolarEdge (a solar company) is very good . They allow customers to share how their solar PV system is performing in different…

Solar PV for the self builder -Part 2b

Analysing a Solar PV quotation. PV Panel Options-Output wattage of pv panels are typically available in the range 270 Watt, 340 Watt, 375 Watt, 455 Watt. A manufacturer’s brand name will add to the price. Some brands names are LG, QCELL, LONGI, REC etc. A manufacturer warranty can be up to 25 years. A performance warranty of up to 25 years is available. Example -A Qcell 340 W , 25 year…

Solar PV for the self builder -Part 2

Building a New Home-Self Builder

Factory Built or Site Construction 

There are many options today when deciding to build. One can use a factory built design or use traditional block work or timber frame on site. Some factory built designs are as follows by way of example  http://www.scanhome.ie .  One can select the level of input oneself such as only construct the frame and say the self builder can do the rest or let the…

The Plan

The plan is to have all the outdoor lighting (Using LED -Light Emitting  Diodes) operate from a 12 volt recycled car battery and recharged by a solar PV panel. The lights will be controlled by the in-built timer in the MPPT charger. This will keep the cable cost to a minimum (small cable size) and keep the voltage low enough to be safe in a garden environment (when digging and planting).

Remote Monitoring Passive House

Water Leaks, Power Measurement and Temperature.

The task of monitoring for water leaks, temperature and measuring power is best served by some remote tools available on the market.

Most tools rely on Wi-Fi, zigbee, 433mHz etc., signals to communicate through the internet connection remotely to your phone.

This in itself is a weakness as if your wi-fi is not working then most of these tools fail.…

Lighting and KNX Update for a self build.

LIGHTING AND KNX UPDATE

I am just getting around to installing the light switches . This is how the finished light switches look at the moment. Later on I plan to change the front plate of this switch to one of the other options such as glass, wood or marble.

This is what the above light switch looked like before installation. Standard switches can be used if one uses the method…

Images and Lighting Design Progress.

Progress to date.

Floor Laying

Floor laying continues with the Junckers System. The floor boards  are 22 mm solid wood with a proprietary clip system. Each of the metal clips (shown below) connect each floor board. The clip type one selects depends on the expected humidity levels in the home. I used a soundproof underlay on the concrete floor. One can also nail this type of flooring.

  Skirting…

Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) Selection Part 3

Mounting of HRV Unit

Different HRV units have different mounting options. Some are floor only, wall only or ceiling or all three. Some units like the Airflow DV145 that I purchased can be mounted on the floor or wall while smaller Airflow units can be mounted on the ceiling, floor or wall. One needs to make sure that there is space underneath for the condensing water outlet.  If the unit is…

Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) Selection Part 2

Selection of the HRV unit.

For those building to the Passive House standard the HRV is independently tested by the Passive House Institute. They provide a full list of certified units at the following link Passive House Certified Heat Recovery Units.   

HRV Efficiency (How is it calculated)

There are principally three methods it seems. One is the Supplymethod (used by manufactures) and this…

Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) Selection- Part 1

HRV OPTIONS

There are two types of HRV units that I came across -Heat (HRV) or Energy (ERV). The ERV is used principally for recovering humidity  and heat. I selected a HRV unit,

Size Matters

When selecting a HRV unit it appears that one of the biggest mistakes is to select a unit that is too small but still satisfies the current regulations. What appears to happen in the competitive world of…

Self Build Passive House

With this passive house self build I aim to design the simplest and most reliable method of providing Lighting, Power and Heating with an emphasis on the life cycle cost (maintenance, repair and health) . The designs will also try to keep things simple.  I will explore:

Solar Water Heating Systems,

Solar PV,

Led Lighting,

Wiring Systems,

CCTV,

Water Storage Systems,

Water Stratification

Building heating.

Rainwater Harvesting

I hope to find novel ways of simplifying a self Build that can be used for those who want to build to a performance standard.