Build It Awards 2021 Best Eco Home category. And the winner is…Woodlands!
Award-winning Woodlands certified passive house
Woodlands is the 2021 Best Eco Home
We are delighted that our Oakwrights-designed certified Passivhaus has won the accolade ‘Best Eco Home’ at the recent Built It Awards.
The judges were looking for self-build homes designed and constructed to be as efficient and sustainable as possible. Taking into account ‘overall design, efficiency and innovation, and how the homeowners’ needs were addressed, with a specific focus on energy performance’, they said of Woodlands:
‘By showing that beauty and sustainability go hand-in-hand, this Passivhaus-rated project ticks all the boxes for an eco-house whilst harnessing the unique character of oak'.
We like to think this sums up Woodlands rather well.
What is an Eco House?
The term ‘eco house’ can mean different things, but probably most would agree that an ‘eco house’ has a low impact on the environment both in terms of energy needs and its carbon footprint. And, of course, ‘eco houses’ can come in a variety of designs and materials, as can houses designed and built to the Passivhaus standard.
An Oak Framed Eco House
We find the appearance of oak-frame buildings particularly appealing. We are especially pleased that our house, with its high ceilings, large windows and four-gabled-end roof design, has the oak frame fully visible inside (the encapsulation system and foundation insulation by Isoquick contributing to achieving the Passivhaus standard by completely enveloping it). But the Oakwrights style also brings the oak appearance to the outside with visible eves and the oak balconies, but without creating cold bridges. This fabric first approach combines thermal efficiency with the other aspects required for the Passivhaus standard with the beauty of oak which matures and blends with its surroundings.
Woodlands shows the beauty of oak both inside and out
The result is a daylight-filled home with senses of beauty that are both visual and tactile. And achieving the efficient and sustainable Passivhaus standard means that it is always a comfortable temperature inside. It also constantly feels fresh and has no draughts or, indeed, any perceptible air movement. A Passivhaus also has very low energy bills.
Woodlands requires minimal space heating but, just like other homes, does need heating for domestic hot water. Both are provided by a ground source heat pump which we find to be both effective and efficient. Indeed, our total energy usage (electricity only) is below that predicted by the Passive House Planning Package calculations used for its design.
A feature about Woodlands in this autumn’s edition of Passive House Plus magazine included a theoretical embodied carbon calculation by John Butler of Sustainable Building Consultancy. This compared Woodlands with a similar-sized house built with masonry filled-cavity walls. It showed Woodlands to have a significant reduction in carbon emissions, and together with the Oakwrights’ WrightWall and ‘WrightRoof Natural insulation system, we achieved the equivalent of a LETI (London Energy Transformation Initiative) 'A' rating for whole-life carbon. This, we understand, is some 72% less carbon emission than current standard practice (depicted in the diagram below).
London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI): range of embodied carbon performance based on benchmarked projects, and the need to improve the average. Source: LETI Embodied Carbon Alignment
In addition, being an oak frame house with cellulose (recycled paper) insulation it stores more carbon than the theoretical alternatives. And an oak frame building should last for at least 200 years. Indeed, we have friends who also live in an Elizabethan oak frame house, but whilst ours is an Elizabeth II one theirs is Elizabeth I (that is, it’s some 500 years old). And just look at many oak frame buildings in various towns – this is a sustainable building method!
We love how our house looks and performs. Experience the Passivhaus difference yourself by staying at Woodlands B&B.