Passive House Pros & Cons | Owner's Experience 5 Years On

[@GCUFlexibleDemeanour]

I can't restrain myself on this one. I'm fairly certain that this is not a passive house. I'll point out some of the obvious problems picked up just from this short video. I bet there are a lot more if you really had a good look around. 1. The MVHR system should be within the conditioned / insulated space. It's in the loft which is outside of the insulated space. That's not good. 2. Sticking with the MVHR system, at 1:32 look at those 180 degree bends in the flexible duct. That would add a lot of static pressure to the system leading me to believe that it's not been properly designed. 3. Still MVHR. The noise from the MVHR is excessive because it has not been considered during the design phase. Silencers should be used for the ducts to reduce airflow noise and suspension mounts should be used for the MVHR unit to reduce mechanical noise. Having high system static pressure will lead to a noisier system (see point 2). 4. Even more on the MVHR. The ducts in the attic which are feeding the upstairs rooms should be placed under some of the loft insulation. The insulation around the duct itself is nowhere near the level of insulation used elsewhere so you're effectively spending money (energy) to recover heat from the outgoing air and then wasting it by not having the ducts properly insulated. Madness. 5. Yep, even more on the MVHR. If you're having issues with humidity then the system is not properly configured. Either you have it set too high or you should be using an ERV core which would maintain humidity at comfortable levels. 6. The living room should definitely not be overheating to that extent. Again, poor design. External shutters or awnings should have been specified if this were a true passive house. 7. I see an exposed and uninsulated gable end wall in the attic. Is that thermally broken from the downstairs rooms because if not (and I doubt it is) then it's an almighty cold bridge running right the way down 2 sides of your house. If not thermally broken then it should be fully insulated from the unconditioned attic space air internally. 8. This may or may not be an issue but I see a pattern here so I bet it is a problem. Those windows at the front of the house appear to be sliding windows. That doesn't bode well for them achieving a whole window system U value of 0.8 (passive house standard) and it also doesn't fill me with confidence on the air tightness front either. Seems like a house that uses some passive house technology and concepts as a selling point but is in fact NOT a passive house. Is it certified? OK, I'm done... for now 🙂

[@krunchie2024]

Yes, this is likely a "passive house" that falls well below "Passivhaus" standard. It is useful to use the German for houses that are certified to the German standard to distinguish them houses that merely have passive features, like south-facing glass. In some ways however, this house could be more suitable than a Passivhaus for this owner. Insulating and air sealing have the same diminishing marginal returns as everything else, and adding that extra inch of insulation and extra complex sealing can add way more in build cost than the heat loss it saves. We live somewhere much colder than the UK (the mountains in Japan), but heat 100 sq m with one minisplit air con (rated 7.2kWh and good down to -20C). Our house is well short of Passivhaus standard, around 35kWh per square meter per year for heating, but that is good enough. Building a Passivhaus at Japan prices would have increased the build cost by 40% due to the need to use a boutique builder. This was money we did not have. Increased build cost will be even more important in the UK for folks having to pay 7%+ interest.

[@james.telfer]

Yes, I was a bit surprised at the loft layout - was expecting it to be a fully coniditioned space with insulation around the walls & roof, not loose on the loft floor. Now, if only the government realised all houses need massively improved insulation to cut the huge energy & fuel wastage we might finally have comfortable homes in winter & summer!

[@qanon_qanon]

Passive house with a gas boiler? that to me is active heating. True passive houses have water tanks behind glass that heat up - passively - from the sun and stabilise the house temperature with thermal mass. Talking of which, I noticed he "slagged" old houses as most people will do but I lived in a victorian terraced which had wooden floors and a void and earth under the ground floor. What this did was regulate the temperature using the thermal mass of the earth and kept the house (at least the ground floor) warmer in winter and cooler in summer without any additional heating or cooling. I am now in 1930's house which again has a wooden ground floor, void and earth (and air vents too), which again regulates the ground floor temperature. What is does not do is regulate the upstairs so I have externally insulated the long side wall of this semi and insulated in the inside to the front and rear to avoid planning permission (stealth tax). I bet my house will be more passive than the one above........

[@miken3963]

Yeah, that. I have a passive house in Germany and this ventilation system looks like it's an absolute afterthought and like it even wasn't in the original house design. The air should not be so dry as to one not being able to grow indoor plants. That is not acceptable. They should properly balance their ventilation system and lower down the fan speed until humidity reaches acceptable levels (at least 30% RH). Cleaning more regularly also helps with the subjective feeling of dryness - the more dust there is in the air, the more dry one will perceive it to be. My MVHR system has 3 discreet speed settings. With 3 people in the house, I run it at the lowest setting and it keeps the humidity around 40% in winter. I wonder if they're just running running their system on full blast all of the time (considering how they're complaining about noise). Which would be very inadvisable for a house with just 2 occupants. Proper design, installation, maintenance and use of the ventilation system is absolutely integral to the whole passive house concept. The people who designed and installed this one should be forced to undergo proper training. The owner should also be explained on what the system does and how to use it. "More air flow = more better" is a wrong approach to have here.

[@mazdamaniac4643]

Absolutely spot on mate. I'm retrofitting MVHR onto my terraced house that's just gone past 20 years old now, it doesn't have any of the problems that this guy has been getting. £300 a month for a PassivHaus? Jesus sweet Christ! I'm unlucky if I go over £2 a day on my electricity/gas bill...and I don't have underfloor heating or a modern condensing boiler..yet. All of my MVHR kit is with solid ducting, with proper bends all embedded in the roof insulation. What does penetrate into the attic space is covered in insulation as well, but it's not a problem because I've insulated the attic space into a warm roof to trap any residual heat from my house. My 20 year old boiler barely does anything anymore besides DHW water. This guy has some serious issues he needs to work out with his building engineer, because something is not right here if a learned DIY'er like myself can do better.

[@andy0175]

Having worked for a passivehaus company, the biggest issue we faced was other tradies having no clue how to install their gear in one. We'd spend all day prepping, taping and spraying only to come back the next day to find holes all over the house for pipes and electrics etc...

[@Speedkam]

True. They dont give a monkey. Had a tiler recently. I actually tanked the shower myself and the guy SCREWED a batten to the wall piercing waterproof film.

[@matty506]

Sounds like bad project management. You should've properly explained what was expected of the trades.

[@andy0175]

@@matty506 you often go to a site with no idea what you're doing then? They know its Passive Haus, they need to come prepared, not walk in half arsed and smash the place to pieces. They always learn once they get the bill for rectifying their screw ups!

[@matty506]

Poor excuse for bad management @@andy0175

[@jonathanrashleigh8771]

You sound like a horrible builder.

[@Aethid]

This is an atrocious example of a passive house. It seems like the builders had no idea what they were doing. None of the problems they are facing here are typical. It is impressive that you even managed to find such an atypical house to use as an example.

[@tonybarrett8543]

That's not true, lots of passive houses have those problems and more. Research is showing negative immuno problems, modern surgery has stopped using passive recovery units for many recovery patients, says a lot, there has been numerous reports on formaldehyde problems because of them, the list goes on.

[@Aethid]

@tonybarrett8543 Utter nonsense. Overheating, low humidity, and high energy bills are all things passive houses are far less likely to experience than a typical new build. These are all common issues in poorly engineered new builds. Hospitals are not typically built following passive principals and patient care has nothing at all to do with energy efficient building science. Off-gassing from new constrctions primarily comes from interior finishes used in new constructions, and has nothing to do with insulating and sealing the building fabric. The only interaction passive construction methods have with VOC off-gassing is that their ventilation system is much more effective at clearing them from the building than relying only on air leakage from a building regs construction.

[@orange1666]

@@tonybarrett8543 correctly designed and built passive houses are the healthiest buildings a person can live in ,a correctly installed MVHR system gives no issues with regards to health and quite the opposite - the only healthier house is one with all the windows open made from totally natural materials , formaldehyde issues are not because of MVHR systems but usually because of positive ventilation systems , I suggest you research the subject more before trying to discredit something your clearly have not understood . Maybe you can explain why bringing in and circulating constant fresh air is better than breathing the stagnant stuff inside the home or what has leaked though the building fabric ?

[@3d1e00]

Lol I nearly put this as well. I studied passive house design back in the early naughties and the design of this one followed nothing that came out of the literature back then. This is just a materials and system approach to a normal house. No passive solar at all really it's a active design.

[@Speedkam]

@orange1666 hi. Can you explain more why piv causes aldehyde problem?

[@Wayfarer-Sailing]

That's a fairly atypical passivehouse - radiators and underfloor heating. The overheating in summer is unacceptable too, and should have been picked up in the design stage by the planning software (not mentioned here, I think) which models such aspects so as to avoid expensive or uncomfortable mistakes. The owner seems quite happy with it though.

[@martinfreedman]

PHPP probably not mentioned as the owner likely would have been unaware of it, unless he commissioned the house. I think he was just told it is a passive house when he was sold it and it is not.

[@lelllooooo]

This is quite bizare setup, that Heat Geek guy would go apoplectic here for sure. Overzoning, with a inconsistent mix of controls and emmiters, (and gas heating...), MVHR unit in unconditioned(!) loft with a constant 'take-off' noise (should be inaudible), drying out people and plants (that is why ERV is a thing), solar gains (?) toasting the place to 35C, £100+ per month for heating of a 'passive' house, etc. Also, no specfic details at all about insulation (EWI/IWI/CWI?), which is the most important part (alongside with airtightness/MVHR). Good effort, but probably not the best example of how such house should look like.

[@ricos1497]

Yep, it reminded me of my own house, which isn't passiv standard and nor does it have MVHR (yet!). Could I ask what issue you foresee with the MVHR being in an unconditioned loft? I was thinking of putting one in a similar position! I was certainly surprised by the noise being an issue and even more by the very obvious miscalculation of solar gain. Surely that could be rectified with basic shading?

[@lelllooooo]

The main thing with MVHR is heat recovery, that happens by passing warm 'spent' air by a core in MVHR unit and warming it up. If that unit is in an unconditioned space (where temperature in winter can reach below 0C), a lot of this energy will simply dissipate and be lost to environment. Similarly in sumer, you will be pumping warm air, from mvhr core toasting in the loft into your house. MVHR units with insulated cores exist, but are rather rare. Realistically, no reason to at least board the loft, with some wool between rafters, cost of such operation is minute (compared to cost of mvhr, etc) and it very much could be a DIY job - and it makes massive difference to comfort and heating bills.

[@ricos1497]

@@lelllooooo very interesting thanks, and makes sense, my loft is boiling in summer and freezing in winter. I assumed MVHR systems were insulated, shows how much I know! One issue with though, I live in a timber frame and was told by the builder not to insulate the rafters because the loft essentially worked like a cold roof would (that was my understanding of what he was saying), that because the roof insulation wouldn't connect to the wall insulation it would not be continuous. Doesn't sound right though. Maybe I'll create an insulated box in the loft to keep an MVHR in. It could double as a punishment den to keep the kids in too.

[@lelllooooo]

​​@@ricos1497Sounds bogus, imperfect insulation is better than no insulation. It is mostly about keeping the cold draughts from taking all the heat away from the loft, can be easily achieved by stuffing wool between rafters with great effect (you don't even need to board it, just use these metal wires to keep the wool in place)

[@ricos1497]

@@lelllooooo yep, that was certainly my opinion. He was a very good builder though, and the house is well built, perhaps he assumed I was removing the loft floor insulation and replacing with the rafter insulation or something. If I go for MVHR then I'll certainly look to mitigate the uninsulated problem. It's a big area, so perhaps a partition of sorts might save a lot of cost.

[@troyboy4345]

House builders need a kick up the arse for new builds, to get even close to what is actually anywhere near the standard required, the understanding and attention to detail for these types of houses is far away from the "average" cost today, they can't even build a decent, standard house ...

[@Zebedee2612]

In Scotland, the building regs will change in 2024 requiring all new housing to be built to Passive House standard. A great idea one that England Wales and NI should take on. Just to note, although good I don't think this example is up to the passive standard, his bills appeared high. Did he have a passive house certificate?

[@gordonmackenzie4512]

He’s got that house at Maternity Unit levels of heat. 24c is crazy.

[@Aethid]

Something went very wrong if this building is a certified passive house.

[@james.telfer]

@@gordonmackenzie4512 I love it when the ambient has been 24C or higher this summer! Why would I want to wear jumpers in winter if it was optional? 🤷‍ I don't have the 'natural insulation' levels the majority of the population do now & I grew up in the tropics and so frankly I prefer it warmer than colder.

[@mentality-monster]

@@james.telfer Wearing a jumper at 19 degrees celsius? Jesus. Shorts and t shirt until it's under 10.

[@effervescence5664]

Passive house with a conventional attic instead of a conditioned attic, annoying. Also if they're having trouble with the humidity not being high enough it should of had a slightly different system allowing for the relative humidity to be kept at a more comfortable condition, normally 45-55%.

[@Tim_Small]

External solar shading for attics is the right answer, passivhaus or not. Relative humidity going too low is usually due to the building regs ventilation rates being a bit on the high side. UK regs rates are about 50% higher than the levels specified by the passivhaus standard. If you're building in the UK, you have to use the regs values which usually overventilate with overly dry air being the result. Ideally ventilation rates should be adaptive and change according to indoor humidity and CO2 levels (from exhaled breath), but the UK regs don't currently allow this.

[@Aethid]

@@Tim_Small The loft should be inside the thermal envelope of the building. It is much more difficult to ensure proper air tightness and a lack of thermal bridging if the loft is outside, so there is no good reason to do it. In either case, the MVHR should absolutely not be outside of the insulation. That is a spectacularly stupid flaw in the construction of this house, and is likely a major contributor to the issues they are having. Humidity being poorly controlled can be solved by specifying an ERV instead of a HRV, but it is highly unusual for this to be an issue, which indicates that there may be other problems with the building.

[@lelllooooo]

If it is your house, you don't 'have to' obey these building regs guidelines once you live with it. The system of course has to be constructed with capacity according to building regs (which as you say are biased towards overventilation), but then, any decent MVHR system will have option for co2/humidity based control, which is a much more sensible choice, nothing is stopping you from using these.

[@superspeeder]

A good ERV with high moisture recovery/transfer will help immensely with cold climate dryness. Also as mentioned, reducing ventilation rate is a big factor also. Quite often the regs specify too much, the homeowner can tailor this to CO2 levels instead of arbitrary targets. If this house is too dry the homeowner should educate themselves and make appropriate changes. A conditioned attic/loft has nothing to do with the thermal performance of a home. If the HVAC system (and ductwork!) is kept within the thermal envelope, conditioning the attic isn’t necessary.

[@sparkyoc6766]

PassivecHouse/haus is the standard that we should be aiming for, but some of the issues with this home seem to be design errors. The ERV should be within the thermal envelope as there are airways going to be heat losses from the ducting, even if it is super-insulated. The summer temperatures sound ridiculous. Clearly, the designer/architects haven't identified the importance of shading, which is a basic PH aspect. The humidity control needs addressing and the heating seems to be over-engineered. Most PHs won't need gas heating off any sort and definitely not floor AND radiator heating. Good on the owner for making the decision to build PH but I would be having a word with the designer.

[@neilashdown6854]

Love this channel so informative and professionally put together long May it continue

[@stewartj00701]

I think with going passive the best heating is air to air in combination with solar, in summer when it's too hot and sunny your house cools itself for free, I personally use solar/air to air, and have a separate air to water heat pump for my hot water cylinder, so solar energy efficiency is compounded heating the water through the daytime when there's plenty of sun. I can't see any better setup, underfloor heating is just not all that controllable with changeable weather, it just doesn't react quick enough

[@Aethid]

An air to water heat pump is ideal for a passive house. You can install low temperature UFH directly into the concrete foundation slab - turning the entire foundation into a giant radiator and storage heater - which allows you to run the heating circuit at about 30C. That is right in the optimal range for the heat pump. You don’t need any zoning or complicated controls here. That same heat pump can also handle hot water, so you don’t need a separate system for that. That keeps cost and complexity down. A passive house is extremely temperature stable, with it taking literally weeks to get cold in the winter if you turn the heating off entirely; you don’t need the heating system to respond quickly to the weather. UFH is quieter than forced air, more energy efficient, heats the house more evenly… and it feels nice under foot. As a bonus, the surface area of the floor is large enough, and the cooling load small enough, that it is possible to cool the foundation slab in the summer with the same system without introducing damp issues from condensation.

[@type17]

I'm glad to hear that you are getting on well with air-to-air and solar, and with a heat pump for DHW, because this is exactly the setup (also with MHRV) that we have just fitted to our 40 year-old bungalow, and we move back in next week. (Obviously, the walls and roof have been insulated and we've fitted triple-glazing too.) I agree about underfloor heating being too slow to react to our maritime climate's changeable weather - I reckon that it does work well in continental climates, where the weather's temperature changes are mostly slower and more predictable.

[@johnhunter4181]

I couldn't agree more, a passive house shouldn't need any heating for 10 months of the year. My guess is that his bills are so high because the UFH is mainly heating the ground below - judging from the rest of the build, floor insulation was another afterthought. Turn it off and get a small minisplit a/c

[@eddyd8745]

I live in a 3 bed 1920's semi with double glazing, good loft insulation, solar and a battery. I'd be majorly peeved if I was paying £300/month, or even the £150/month. I only pay £68/month for gas and electric and I'm £995 in credit at the moment! I do use a wood burner in the evenings as well though.

[@andreashessler838]

Pretty much the same as me. However, I am being tempted by triple glazing. My friend has had it done and it is excellent. It is bloody expensive though!

[@eddyd8745]

It's possibly on my radar. I do have double glazing but it's quite old. Modern windows with a wide gap might do just as well. @@andreashessler838

[@JohnnyMotel99]

I don't get his 150/month either. My house is '60s semi. I do keep the temperature in the winter at 20C, but only a few hours a day. The most noticeable effect is the house cools down quickly.. I am paying £98 a month.

[@jimh4072]

I renovated a 1910 mid terrace house a few years ago. It was a two up two down house with a shoddily built two story extension - so six rooms and total area of 62 sq metres floor space. I had very little money but did most of the work myself. I tried to keep the house draught free and well insulated (where possible) double glazed, new interior and exterior doors etc. I was heating with a combi boiler on natural gas. I never spent any more than £300 a year on heating, hot water and cooking on a gas hob.

[@jimh4072]

⁠I would definitely consider triple glazing if I found a house where I would stay long term. I am kind of a gypsy and like moving around every few years. 😂

[@Stigtoes]

I have a friend who also has a passive house but his also controls the humidity which I thought would be essential.

[@stuartmottram3467]

Perfect timing Roger, I’ve spent all day researching this very topic-thanks

[@clarkkent4683]

Why is there no hydrometer monitoring/controls? That should sort the moisture complaints

[@marcpurkiss3233]

Im not super insulated, but ive been not turning the heating on for years!- which is why its particularly stupid when they try to ban my combi boiler which uses approx 70p a day for showers.

[@martinfreedman]

This seems a slightly odd house to be a Passive House. It should not get to 35 C in the summer in the kitchen with all that glass. A Passive House must have some shading solution to prevent summer overheating - although some days is allowed but 35 C is excessive. 10% of 365 days above 25 C is the limit - that could be a maximum of around 5 weeks but anyone who has that would have used an air to air heat pump for summer cooling if there was the threat of 35C. A properly designed Passive House can be cooled/heated solely via the fresh air MVHR system - a ground floor UFH and first floor radiators is excessive and an additional cost - and more expensive than a 3kw A2A cooler/heating solution. £150/month costs seem very high for such a Passive House - should be more like £300 p.a. plus Domestic Hot Water heating costs - this is clearly not anything but a Passive House Classic as it does not have solar. A house that size should not need more than that (maybe 4kW). As regards humidity they should not have the issues they do, the MHRV unit should be adjusted to manage that and keep relative humidity in a comfortable range 24/7. (In the summer, sleeping bedroom window ventilation can be used, that is not an issue and does not stop it being a Passive House, neither does opening windows and doors at any other time). Then there is the fan noise, I did not see any silencers. Not part of the certification itself but highly recommended and part of the overall Passive House design process. Is this really a Passive House Certified house? Is it on the Passive House database, I have checked all UK houses and not recall seeing this house (but I was not looking for it and am not going check again - unless I know where it is). If a new build there should have been very little additional costs in making it Passive House 5 to 10% premium max. There was no discussion of capital costs which need to be understood along with running costs. If it is a Passive House it looks like Roger has found the worst one in the UK...

[@JohnnyMotel99]

I agree, I think the builders made it 'passive house' more as a selling point than as a practical and comfortable way to live.

[@GCUFlexibleDemeanour]

I'm pretty sure this is not really a passive house. The MVHR system being outside of the insulated space is a major problem. The overheating in the living room seems like a design flaw which could be easily remedied using external sun shading. That should have been picked up in the design phase. I bet the walls and full window systems don't meet the passive house specified U Values. The windows appear to be sliding windows which leads me to believe they don't achieve a full system U value of 0.8 despite possibly being triple glazed. Even something as seemingly unimportant as the ventilation ducts not being put under some of the loft insulation is poor design. You can also see an exposed and uninsulated gable end wall in the attic. I bet that's not thermally broken from the wall leading down into the first floor bedrooms. If so, that's a monumental cold bridge. Duct tape is being used to connect the ducts to the MVHR system. Should be aluminium tape. It should also not be noisy. That should be addressed by design by using silencers for the ducts and suspension mounts for the MVHR unit. Picking up on these pretty big problems from a short tour would lead me to believe that if you really took a close look, you'd find all sorts of cold bridging issues and other problems. Looks to me like a house that uses some passive house technology but doesn't properly adhere to the design principles and requirements. I bet it's not passive house certified. I hate to just criticise this guy's house that he seems happy with but I think it's important to spread accurate information on passive house design.

[@martinfreedman]

@@GCUFlexibleDemeanour A pretty good summary but, note, that an MVHR can be outside the thermal envelope.

[@DaveAppleton]

In cold countries you want the sun to be able to come through windows and in a hot ones you want large roof overhangs to stop the sun coming through windows, in this country which can be both hot and cold you really need to use awnings and shutters. I've lived in a house with an air recovery system and it was inaudible, so was surprised when he said he could hear it.

[@kaneworsnop1007]

If the verandas are designed correctly it means when the sun is higher in summer the direct sunlight will not reach the external walls, but in winter when the sun is lower it will come in through the windows. The orientation of the house is also really important, I can remember how many degrees it is, but it needs to be slightly off of being southern facing on the longest walls.

[@anthonyknight5465]

Interesting video, thanks. I am just finishing my own self build home, and explored a passive house design at the outset. I found that the shape, configuration and orientation of the house was a critical part of achieving passive standards, but on my plot there were limited options in those respects. The end result was that I had to abandon any ambition of passive house standards. I do wonder if our commitment to good urban and suburban planning standards, and to traditional street layouts etc, prevents many a passive house from leaving the drawing board.

[@christastic100]

Try and Stick a humidifier in and let it fight it out with the house dehumidifier 😆. Seriously though a Question I have doesn’t the house feel sterile somewhat ?

[@HiruS22]

Struggling to think of what's "passive" about this house with its conventional gas powered wet central heating and forced air exchange. Hard to think how it could be more active?

[@S3l3ct1ve]

Passive house, but also a complicated house as well :) One major thing many new home owners face in my neighborhood, a lot of the filters, mainly for sucking in the air clog up quite fast, and they need to be cleaned or even replaced every couple of months. Especially in the winter, when the old house owners start to burn wood and on very cold days even coal.

[@lelllooooo]

On the other hand, these filters (especially F7 class ones) in MVHR systems also remove pollutants (e.g. soot, diesel and tire particles), polen, dust, spores, bacteria etc. from the air outside, pumping much cleaner and higher quality air into your home. The health and comfort (e.g. very little dust at home) benefits cannot be understated here, very much worthwile relatively small cost and hassle of replacing the filters.

[@simcax6087]

Yeah, you have to replace those filters, but your lungs are a lot harder to replace...

[@ricos1497]

​@@simcax6087I do lung replacements for £100 a pop. Couple of days and you'll be as good as new.

[@martinfreedman]

I disagree, a Passive House should be simpler to run and maintain then a conventional one. All heating and cooling in a new build should ideally be done via an A2A HP applied to the MVHR fresh air circulation system. Far simpler and easier to install/maintain than boilers, UFH and radiators. Discussing new builds than are not Passive House certified, maybe jus to Building Regs is, frankly, misleading, even if honest as I am sure here, as this is just an indictment of current conventional but modern building practices.

[@SmallWonda]

That's my BIG concern is the venting - what happens when it goes wrong - are there alarms & I guess tricky if the power dies for any length of time. I like the idea of having the air scrubbed - or at least the dust removed, but I like to feel fresh air coming in - I could see in some households it could get quite divisive with those who like to see the fresh air coming in & those wishing to preserve the hermetic seal!

[@randomvariablenj]

My flat that I've lived in for a decade isn't PassivHaus, but it does have MVHR. The original unit from the builder didn't have a summer bypass so caused a lot of problems in the summer. Because it's not PassivHaus, it basically overheats in the summer, which I've had to compensate by putting solar film on the south facing windows, and use AC when i'm working from home in the second bedroom converted office. The real major benefit is the removal of water vapour though. Condensation just can't happen. But I've not had the problem with it being too dry. Humidity stays around 55%. I guess this owner could add an enthalpy exchanger if they wanted more humidity.

[@NaziHampster]

I reckon I`ve got the most passive house in the UK. Haven't had the heating on in over 15 years and my bedroom window is open 24/7 unless the wind blows the rain straight in. All the other windows have the top vent open 24/7. Back door into kitchen, open all the time I'm in the house, apart from when I go to bed. Fit and healthy because of it thanks.

[@edc1569]

How do you prevent your plumbing freezing or have you not brought water into the property yet?

[@DaveAppleton]

You have me intrigued, I have my heating on very low in the winter and just dress much warmer. The problem I face is damp caused by humidity. I get what you're saying about ventilation but when the outside temp is below 12.5 I'm not prepared to have the windows open. So please explain more.

[@NaziHampster]

@@DaveAppleton Nothing much more to add to be fair. You say you have your heating on very low (I do not have mine on at all). You close your windows when temp drops, I don't. Showers, the window is open all the time I'm in there showering and it stays open 24/7 always, no damp ever. Somewhere within that is the answer. I`m no damp/humidity expert, but it works for me. Never had any damp issues. Sure it can get damn cold, but I just put on more clothes. Usual indoor clothing during the worst of winter is, thin socks with some thicker fleecy type ones over the top. Thin leggings with a pair of joggers over the top. Long sleeved thermal style t shirt, thin fleece jumper thing over that and fleecy hooded zip up top over that. Sometimes a woolly hat. I cant abide central heating, never had. I also love a frigid cold bed, I sleep hot. In my 50`s and 12 stone, no fat. I`m used to it now, and forget how it might of been for me when I first started living this way. It was never a financial issue, just seemed right. You get used to it and it just seems more natural to me. Good luck, it aint for everyone :)

[@NaziHampster]

@@edc1569 Water in property, full central heating system installed when house bought new. I guess there is just enough difference between indoor to outdoor temp to not have any plumbing problems. I do make a point of putting the heating on for a couple of hours each late autumn just to test the system and make sure nothing is leaking. No probs so far. If we were to ever get a proper hard winter then I would consider putting heating on, but only enough to maintain plumbing integrity. Some would (and do) say its a hard way to live. I couldn't have it any other way. Wrap up and take care.

[@DaveAppleton]

@@NaziHampster thanks for you're reply, I understand and would be happy to do the same if I wasn't concerned about the house getting below freezing on sub-zero night's. My pipes inside the fabric of the property are not lagged which is the norm and even lagged pipes will freeze after less time than most think if the water is not moving( I used to sell plumbing supplies). The cost of water damage going all night would far outweigh heating costs.

[@kevinm5895]

Can skill builder or the home owner confirm if this is actually a passive-certified house, because I am seeing a lot of issues that would be flagged by the certification process.

[@Wayfarer-Sailing]

Thank you for asking this - saved me doing it...! Maybe SB could find a more typical example to showcase in a future video.

[@AdrianWalker247]

It can't be certified, it's got a bloody letter box!

[@kevinm5895]

@@AdrianWalker247 that says all we need to know about this house so… it’s nowhere near passive house spec

[@TMZ-5jr]

Is it certified? Or claimed? Why radiators or underfloor heating? They are not required for a passivhaus, the energy usage seems to high.

[@radfoo]

I have bought a 1960s house 4 years ago and i'm slowly renovating. A couple of the bedrooms were very drafty, the previous owner had even stuffed newspapers under the skirting boards. Obviously since renovating i have sealed up such gaps, insulated under most of the ground floor. House is more comfortable but recently bought a co2 monitor, scary now i have been learning about it and seeing how high the readings can go (particular when sleeping at night). I still think i have done the right thing but think I might need and MVHR system to introduce more fresh air. I still cant undestand how it reduces humidity though, if i open the window on a typical rainy winters day that just increases the humidity in my house, so that confuses me. Another video explaining MVHR in more depth wpuld be helpful. thanks!

[@lelllooooo]

It is the relative humidity that matters, e.g. outside air might have 100% humidity @10C, but after warming it up to 21C at home, humidity becomes around 50% (since warmer air can store more moisture). People produce A LOT of moisture (by breathing, cooking, washing, etc.), unless you live in a subtropical region (super high humidity even in hot summer), the outside cold air will always store less humidity than 'spent' air saturated with humidity from home. After making house airtight, it is important to get rid of all that excess humidity, otherwise it will eventually consense and promote growth of mould, pathogens and so on. If you cannot fit MVHR system, at least look at PIV (positive input ventilation) - such system is easy to fit and cheap and while it won't have recovery benefits, but will ensure constant fresh supply of air, displacing, stale one, saturated with moisture and CO2.

[@squeaky_honda]

co2 monitors are amazing. I suffocated myself while trying to cut the bills (stop all drafts). Got headaches and got very ill, then with a co2 monitor I noticed I was keeping myself at 1500-2000ppm all the time. Forget about HRV unless you're building a new house or making a small DIY heat-exchanger. I keep a window in a nearby room cracked open at all times, and the door towards that room cracked open. 550ppm constant, with nice humidity. The amount of heat that air holds is actually miniscule; your walls from that window towards your room possibly act as somewhat-weak heat-exchangers. (keep your room free from other drafts, though). Next I'll install Hive TRVs on radiators in rooms, which I expect will almost halve my gas bill (e.g no need to heat the bedroom above 15C during the day).

[@radfoo]

@@squeaky_honda thanks for the info. I have only had the co2 monitor about a week so still need to experiment more. With having a monitor I can manage the co2 in my bedroom at night just by leaving the door open and opening windows occasionally, though I do wonder how easy that will be when it gets really cold. More complicated for the childrens rooms though, the doors are usually shut to stop one of them waking the other up early in the morning, even leaving their doors open until I go to sleep then shutting, by morning it's 3000ppm which can't be good.

[@radfoo]

@@lelllooooo cool, thanks for info. I think what you are saying make sense when is a bit colder than now. But this time of year is been say 15c outside and opening the windows had bumped up the humidity. I guess it's not like that all the time, when it was warm last week managed to get the house humidity down quite a bit, but only helped for a day or so. I suppose I need to do more experiments. I think my house might be suitable for mvhr just need to renovate a couple more rooms then go back and tweak a few things in the bathroom and downstairs toilet as they wil be quite leaky I think.

[@Andrew-rc3vh]

@@squeaky_honda Get some large house plants and use natural CO2-> oxygen machines.

[@TerryE-UK]

We've got a near passive house. From to sounds of it, at a higher spec than this one. We use a 3 kW resistive heater to heat the UFH, with the whole house controlled as a single zone at just over 22°C 24×7, with total heating peaking in Jan to an average around 20 kWh / day at done overnight at E7 rates. All this per room complexity is just cost and maintenance hassle for no benefit. Also no heating upstairs, though I do use a ½kW electric oil heater for ~5 hrs overnight on the 1st floor landing for the 2-3 coldest months. The house is ASHP ready, but we would only save ~£600 p.a. by installing one, so this isn't enough to get a payback on the install costs. Humidity is a pretty constant 55%, so not sure why this would be an issue. I would never live in a traditional UK house again, even if fully compliant to current Building Regs.

[@Retrofitright]

ASHP ready - not exactly as no wet heating system currently so costs could be a fair bit I guess, otherwise would be a no brainer. Surely with the Boiler Upgrade scheme and a projected save of £600.a it could payback fairly quickly and could be worth it while the scheme is still around for you. Shame the scheme hates air to air which would be much easier to install and ideal for also providing cooling. I guess using resistive heating like that you have no maintenance costs which is plus even if using a lot of kW's. Might be better to go for a battery rather than a heat pump in the longer term if you didn't want disruption. You got PV? how do you heat your water?

[@TerryE-UK]

@@Retrofitright , sorry missed your response. My bad. I've got the buried double insulated runs from adjacent to my UFH manifolds to the outside pad where the ASHP would go, plus the 240V circuits. All I would need to add is a PHE. and an ASHP model which uses a modulated inverter compressor so that I can avoid adding a useless and bulky buffer tank In the UK you have to use a "MCSE certified" installer to get the rebates, and they don't seem to be interested in what is basically a £1K plumbing job + £2.5K ASHP. Quotes seem to be a min of £10-15K because they want to install a template that would heat a typical 4 bed detached house, despite I've got 6 years of logged data which shows that 3kW for 7 hrs is enough to keep the house toasty in the winter months. I am in the process of switching to an Agile (time of day) tariff which will drop my annual costs ~ 25% because I can time shift my loads. No PV as the planners set No. DHW is by PCM storage heaters so we only heat what we use. No battery, but with current price curves, this might be worth revisiting in a couple of years.

[@ilseparatio2963]

Definitely the house is not passive certified but had a few good improvements put into from a passive house standard.

[@mc1703]

you wouldnt be paying £150 a month in a passivehaus unless you had a hot water tap or some other high draw electrical items. i would also say the range (17-24 degrees) on the thermostat is too wide. the set back temperature should be closer to 20.

[@martinfreedman]

The improvements were IMHO not put in from a Passive House standard, rather the builder just added components piecemeal without cognizance of the interactions and synergies, quite the opposite of the Passive House standard - it is a whole building approach - as in the Passive House Planning Package used by Passive House Designers and Consultants and they only way to get certified.

[@KB-ki7um]

Really hard to achieve true Passive House Standards in U.K. because the insulation providers lie about the true R values/performance. So even if certified as passive, you still end up paying for heating… plus the biggest issue is overheating in summer and it can be unbearable unless you fit proper bilnds.

[@martinfreedman]

@@KB-ki7um If you know anything about passive house standards we only use R-Values as an intermediate step between lambda and U-Values. Generally it is only Americans who are fixated on R-Values, certainly in Passive House it is about U-Values. There is no mention of R-Values in the details of any house in the Passive House data. Second I was talking about Passive House components - these are independently tested and PH certified. Third when used in a Passive House design, the energy model is one of the most accurate available and there is nothing in the UK that makes this different. There are plenty of certified UK Passive Houses and there is very little discussion of them failing to perform, because they do perform.(the one's that don't do not get certified and this is usually due to poor workmanship esp. wrt air tightness and/or substituting inferior materials). For the record I doubt the builder actually used certified Passive House components in this build - possibly one component but that was just to claim it was a Passive House which it is not.

[@sapsap100]

How often does the air filter need to change or clean ?? I am worried that if anyone in the house caught flu or sick, is the house air filter able to filter the germ?

[@dmitrijussabajevas1210]

The ventilation system looks like it is a recuperator system It takes the warm air from the hose through the ceramic mesh and heats it, the fresh air comes from outside through the same mesh and recovers 97% of heat. So the air in the house is fresh from outside, but preheated with the bad air from inside before getting into the hose

[@martinfreedman]

That is what an MHRV is. Look it up.

[@rsmith02]

@@martinfreedman The poster understands it, the owner does not

[@peterswinson326]

Noisy fans, dead plants and dry skin... where do I sign? :) better isolation of the fan with more open vents would solve the noise issue and a humidifier or heat recovery system that adds moisture would solve the other 2. These houses are great for people with allergies.

[@peterreime3146]

If he is having dry air issues in the house it sounds to me like a problem with the humidity regulator on the MVHR unit or just a setting issue?

[@truebengalsfan]

What is lifespan of the tubes used for the in floor heating?

[@SkillBuilder]

50 years minimum

[@truebengalsfan]

@@SkillBuilder long time sounds like expensive repair for next person lol

[@gingerelvis]

I totally get the benefits from a running cost standpoint but personally I like a bit of ventilation and change in climate, when I stay in hotels I can feel my body drying out. It seems that you need to become an expert and nerd out to make the most of passive or modern heating solutions.

[@edc1569]

That’s ac that does that

[@ShortFilmVD]

How much does one of these spaceage houses cost though? And how does that compare to a more traditional house + the extra costs for heating / jumpers?

[@martinhickey3655]

Opening windows does not negate the Passiv Haus. In order for hot air to escape there has to be a place for cold air to come in. With the rear of the building being pretty airtight the heat will not escape. I managed the construction of a certified Passiv Haus school where the nursery had to have double doors open to the external playground. You could stand in the doorway with one arm outside and one inside. There was no movement of the air between the two so no heat lost

[@shmink2]

I lived in a flat like this, triple glazing and everything. It was amazing never needing to turn the heat on once for 4 years. The downside however is the summer is legitimate agony. We would get around with cool damp towels in bed and ice buckets for our feet on the sofa. It's not ideal for sure but if you also had AC and if you're looking to massivley reduce costs then it's a good way to go but set your expectations fairly.

[@jasoncole7711]

Whenever I've stayed in a PassiveHaus I've needed to open the windows because I found the air to be utterly stifling. I also have a suspicion that MVHR systems are not maintained properly and produce soot/mould after a few years of continuous running (no filters, or filters not being replaced?) I'm also skeptical about those fluid underfloor heating systems with the huge manifolds; they look like a nightmare maintenance problem 10 years down the line.

[@vidshotz]

If anyone needs to burn wood in a passive house (hence the soot) then they're lying about it being a passive house. But you're definitely right about the maintenance of filters - it is vital and probably overlooked in places. I've found exactly the opposite in the ones I've stayed in.

[@ianrowley5147]

Does a passivhaus have a boiler?

[@kaya051285]

A passive house or close to it probably doesn't need or warrant a heat pump They are so well insuslted that simple resistive heating would probably be better in that its 1: A LOT cheaper to install 2: A LOT cheaper to maintain and 3: will probably last a lifetime (day 60 years rather than 15) My brothers home isnt a passive house but its only 4 years old so its well insulated. Just general daily activities like cooking food and using eletrical appliances seem to keep it warm enough to only use the heating a few weeks of the year rather than a few months if the year as normal homes do

[@deps42]

Its sounds like they have their ventilation rate set to high causing excesively dry air. As noted below I don't think this is a formally certfied passivhaus - it has a letter box! Other ponts picked up in the comments below also ring true, this was probably 'passivhaus' principals, without the full rigour of the certified version.

[@martinfreedman]

OK Roger after re-reading my and everyone else's comments I seriously wonder if this is a certified Passive House and if not you should not title your video as is. Is there a Passive House certificate? If so then post it (you can obscure the address of course). If you do not I will presume this is not a real Passive House and you should re-title your video and add a note in the main comment. This is the first time I have ever downvoted a video of yours,

[@SkillBuilder]

It is not my video. It is an interview with a bloke talking about his experiences and I was not there. I did the intro to explain what a passive house is. Maybe the estate agent hoodwinked him.

[@srw_cricket2976]

So it's a "Passive Video" 😂@@SkillBuilder

[@martinfreedman]

@@SkillBuilder Fair enough. Sounds like you need to change the title of this video as it is misleading. Look at all the comments discussing whether this is a Passive House or not, and very few others. Change the title unless you are link baiting and comment fishing for the algorithm, in which case you are doing a good job.

[@colinelliott5629]

I found this interesting, because I like technology, but am despite living in an ancient house inhabited by four adults, our bills are no larger, although we live in the country, and have an efficient wood-burning stove. There are some modern touches; double-condensing gas boiler, secondary DG, TRV everywhere, and roof insulation where possible. We get by in winter comfortably, because we wear more clothes, and are used to lower temperatures on occasion. Southern England isn't that cold (sea to the north, east and south), although often wet and windy.

[@timbucknall7074]

Echoing some other comments-it may be insulated to passivhaus standards, but it doesn't sound like it meets the spec on other fronts. The windows should be shaded from the summer sun which would stop it overheating.

[@williamrose7434]

Always great videos .. ❤There’s a good understanding and basic explanation from and to the layman here .. the more technical side is obviously quite involved .. would of been nice to know what certification it achieved .. passivhaus, bre, enerfit whatever

[@kizzerplowright]

IM SO HAPPY THAT THINGS ARE MOVING FORWAD

[@roberttuck4768]

There seems to be a suspiciously large amount of heating for a passivhaus! Also 1.25 gallons exhaled per person, they must be keeping themselves very well hydrated!

[@ColinCarFan]

I think the number is correct but the same person inhales almost as much water. The statistic he is trying to use relates to the average amount generated by a person which includes boiling kettles, cooking food, washing, showering, and having a bath, etc.

[@3d1e00]

Did I miss where the air supply comes in?

[@andrewnelson3681]

This is such a weird corruption of the original idea. A true passive house, is one which has been very carefully designed so that all the windows face south, and are shaded to allow winter sun to penetrate deep into the building in winter, when the angle of he sun is low, but not in summer when the angle is high. This requires very careful design but it’s then possible even in very cold countries like Sweden, to have a house which uses very little energy. The house discussed here is ok on its own terms, but isn’t a good example of a passive house. It’s shoe-horned a lot of high tech stuff into a very traditional design.

[@tlangdon12]

Correct. Building a true passivhaus in the UK is quite difficult because land is in short supply so it's difficult to get enough uninterupted southfacing facade to heat the house passively.

[@paul756uk2]

My daughter's house is the same in that it has underfloor heating downstairs and radiators upstairs with a single controller. This surely affects efficiency in running the boiler because the water temperature has to he higher. Seems a bit pointless to me but i guess its down to the practicalities of installing uf heating on a timber floor. Not sure if this is the case.

[@aabarcellos]

Too hot in summer. Noisy hum mvhr. Do you suggest no underfloor heating ??

[@steves5382]

We are only spending £60 a month E only, bungalow well insulated stays around 18 degrees ,nothing special installed. Potton timber houses told us its very difficult to achieve passive.

[@wobblybob7029]

i was like that sound good that sounds brilliant thats amazing 35 degrees fts

[@jannenreuben7398]

Interesting video like all of Roger's content. What I don't get is why you would get a fairly space age house like that and make it look like it was built in 1900? It would be like Tesla designing their cars like a Model-T Ford. If I were God I'd put all that fancy stuff into a proper plant room and have all the house controls in one place as much as possible.

[@tlangdon12]

Many people don't like modern architecture. They feel more comfortable in homes that look like an older building.

[@normanboyes4983]

That’s a beautiful house that while it may have been certified as meeting the Passivehaus standard that’s about the end of it. The reported user experience of the control of the heating system, the ventilation and heat recovery system and the total absence of humidity control just underscore where it has gone just all wrong. 1. I am guessing the heat loss from this property is maybe a few kilowatts at -2C. I did not catch the make of the boiler but it certainly did not look a high end one and its minimum firing rate is likely half a dozen kilowatts - this boiler is going to spend its life cycling like crazy. The whole system is way over controlled to give the impression that the ‘user can exercise control (fiddle) but in reality this all mitigates against system efficiency (and even more cycling). 2. The MVHR recovery system seems woefully undersized, the diameter of the ducting and the size and number of terminals in the room have forced a situation of higher fan speeds (and noise) than a correctly designed and sized system would have achieved. 3. The total lack of humidity control in the MVHR system is a massive oversight. It is a great shame that the Passivehaus advantages have not been exploited better. It is also screaming out for an ASHP and ripping out all those ‘controls’.

[@metatron007]

What, You need moisture in the air it's very important for any living organism including the human.

[@edc1569]

People and animals do live in very hot and dry places

[@metatron007]

@@edc1569 And also in England as well by the looks of it.

[@theetheeyog9878]

If you call this house a passive house I don't know what to call the passive houses in other country's

[@lelllooooo]

The only 'pasive' like feature in this house is a a presence of MVHR (located in unconditioned loft...), maybe some sort of extra sealing (ACH not mentioned) and potentially 'better than usual' insulation (hard to say - video does not include any details).

[@mrmrmrcaf7801]

We have passive living! We live in Austria 8-9 months of the year and when it gets cold we move to the house in Spain....for about 10 years I haven't paid 1€ for heating. Try to work from home and sell the house you have now and buy 2 smaller ones. Win win, I would have liked to do this earlier in life.

[@terrytulett6939]

There’s a few things that you can argue that doesn’t make that house passivehaus. the immediate thing is the mvhr unit installed isn’t PHI listed so shouldn’t have been signed off.

[@bobwhite9670]

Some smart guy somewhere in germany came up with the name passive house and is really enjoying the passive income he is getting from an assinine idea.....

[@UndercoverArchitect]

Interesting points

[@PotatoesRnice]

why would you filter exhaust air...

[@normanboyes4983]

To keep both sides of the heat exchanger clean.

[@PotatoesRnice]

oh ye makes sense@@normanboyes4983

[@RogerHolden]

Do people (like chap in vid) really have rooms at 24 degrees C? Blimey.

[@tlangdon12]

I certainly don't. Since the cost of fuel went up so much, we're heating our livings spaces to 18-19C and I honestly can't tell the difference between this and the 21C we had before, and I am someone who likes to be warm.

[@necurrence1776]

No we don't. This one time the thermostat was acting out and heated the child's bedroom to 24 degrees C and it was uncomfortable for everyone. Ideally it 22 Deg C for bedrooms and bathrooms, 21 for kitchen and 20 for hallways

[@rob5944]

From purely a financial stand point won't it take literally years to recover the initial outlay? Same with EVs and when the service engineer tried to flog me a new boiler once, the old one was still chugging away when we sd up. Despite having to have an engery report, no one commenced on the frankly clapped out central heating system. I was amazed.

[@lksf9820]

Thanks for airing this. I wouldn't want to sit in a room at 35c, nor walk around in my shorts and a T-shirt though, that's ridiculous. If he factored in reducing the temps down to 20 in Summer his bills would go up to pay for the air-con.

[@kevinwillis6707]

thats easily solved, i worked on a swedish kit house, timber framed, heavily insulated, and the triple glazed window were fantastic, they had internal blinds between two of the panes that could be adjusted and raised and lowered from controls outside on the frame, plus they never needed cleaning because it was all behind glass. the whole house had a tiny woodburner used in the coldest months and underfloor heating. it also went up and was watertight in 2 days once the slab was ready. talking to the owners a few years later they said the bills were tiny.

[@lksf9820]

@@kevinwillis6707 Easy but expensive. You can get them in the UK easy enough, but they aren't cheap and reliability/ongoing costs are questionable. Not saying they aren't a good idea, but...

[@kevinwillis6707]

the house was no more expensive trhan other kit houses ive seen, this was in ireland where building costs are higher generally because materials are more and wages are high, the speed of construction offsets the costs in labour and lower energy bills for the life of the building make it worthwhile.@@lksf9820 you could always just install blinds , its not a dealbreaker on a house like this, or have smaller windows or shade canopies outside. these are niggly points really trying to find fault with this type of house, the building trade is slow to react to changes . i imagine a builder in the sixties and seventies moaning about the newfangled double glazing.

[@ronjansen87]

This is not a real passive house. A proper one needs one single split aircon at the most to keep it warm. Not radiators everywhere and a gasboiler. Besides that, I’d highly recommend the owner looks into an ERV (heat AND moisture recovery) ventilator to replace the HRV. It will keep the moisture level at 50% during the winter. Find a proper installer who knows what they’re doing while you are at it. Flexducts doing a 180 and sealed with duct tape is a bit of a joke really.

[@tlangdon12]

The flexducts doing a 180 might have been does to try to equalise out the length of the duct runs.

[@petehiggins33]

I don't understand why MVHR should cause low humidity. It's the outgoing air that's being cooled and losing its moisture. The incoming air should have the same humidity as the outside world.

[@edc1569]

Outside air can be rely cold, real cold air doesn’t hold much humidity so when it’s warmed up in the mvhr it’s now drier. In most homes you can just run the system slower and you’ll have enough moisture.

[@mjames978]

No air system can beat opening a window. Also this house could be better style by having a front porch (2 doors to external, this can increase entrance temp by up to 5 degC. Also4 inch Celotex in loft and board/ box in the loft makes a big improvement to keep heating but also to reduce exterior sound. My house is much much quieter and less cold bridge after boxing in boarded loft.

[@steve_787]

Is this defiantly a certified "Passivhaus" or a "Passive House"? Having worked on projects and understanding the principles of Passivhaus, this does not seem to meet the standards. Orientation alone to limit the solar gain in summer they are experiencing seems way off. Sounds more like a highly insulated house with MVHR to get a high SAP/EPC certificate. Just look at the window reveal details externally and internally, no chance they meet the PSI values needed.

[@bikerchrisukk]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing SB and the home owner 👍 I'm occasionally asked about them, it does seem to be a standard of property where you're not likely to recover the extra cost in a life time, but it does improve health and comfort when maintained.

[@markrainford1219]

Doesn't seem that healthy to me. Living things dying around you is a warning.

[@bikerchrisukk]

@@markrainford1219 It's not a good sign really, though it has to be said that plants generally need more moisture in the air than humans. If it went below 30% Relative Humidity I'd be concerned for the occupants.

[@bentuffin6357]

How many killer Watts a month do you use. That's the true cost

[@ca1ib0s]

Reminds be of an article singing the virtues of Passivehaus and their case study was a 3 bed semi with the whole house retrofit to passivhaus standards while they were building an extension. Everything that would have been done to the house passivhaus or not was not included in their calculations, EG DG windows etc and the cost just to meet the passivhaus standard added something like GDP100,000 to the renovation and this was 10 years ago. The home owners where thrilled that their heating bill was now only 50 quid a year instead of 2000 quid!!! WOW!! Given the cost of borrowing that extra 100 grand was at least 150 grand, it'll only take (150,000/1950) = 76 years for it to have paid for itself!! I'm sure the owners of the house in the 22nd century will be so thankful for the investment you made in the house in the opening decade of the 21st!! LOL. Seems like you also have to rule the house with an iron fist too, constantly shouting at the kids to close the windows or to stop letting the dog out otherwise you've lost all the heat you slowly built up with the UFH and now its going to take hours to get the room back up to temperature unlike radiators.

[@Citizen-of-theworld]

My concern would be whether you are vulnerable to hypoxia or air quality risks if you have a problem with the powered ventilation failing?

[@edc1569]

You can tell if the system has turned off, start to notice more smells. Dampness, etc. just crack a window until the problem is sorted.

[@nickmail7604]

I live in a house built in 1972, a bit bigger than this chaps house, it's double glazed, insulated walls and loft space and if I ever had to pay a hundred and fifty pounds a month for combines gas and electric I would be gutted. My 2 winter quarters are about £320.00 each (so a little over £106.00 a month) and my 2 summer quarters are about half that (so little over £53.00 a month). I do live on my own but I shower or have a bath every day, cook regularly from scratch and have never gone cold. I spent my life working outside so I may have a slightly higher tolerance for cold but not by that much.

[@mramg6038]

Better to try and compare like for like. For example I don’t allow my house to go below 21 degrees day or night. Costs me £260/month ish with the current price cap. But that doesn’t mean much since I haven’t told you how many units or kWh I’m using or the square footage of the house.

[@pauldavies7251]

​@@mramg6038I'd hope you live in a 10 bedroom mansion if your paying that much a month 😳

[@nickmail7604]

@@mramg6038 so you have air conditioning 9n when it's hot outside?

[@jacbisgood2221]

That poor boiler will be cycling like crazy! It's minimum modulation could easily be 10 X what the heatloss of those loops are.

[@peterstevens6555]

Good morning from Auckland, New Zealand ....

[@colinelliott5629]

Good morning, NZ, from Canterbury (the one on Watling Street).

[@FUT-Franklin]

Self sustainable houses is what i want to see, no gas soley electric produced by renewables but id be in lala land to belive theirs such a thing

[@tlangdon12]

We're not far off that. I have a friend in Australia that heats and cools their house using electricity, and cooks using electricity, and they are close to net-zero over the year. They make back the cost of the electricty they use in the winter during the summer.

[@DerekTJ]

Lovely house, nice features, looks comfy and modern. But it's not a passive house. £150 savings per month is about £36k over 20 years. This set-up had to cost double that, conservatively.

[@pepegalego]

My neighbour, a builder, told me that the real problem is condensation. My quibble with this is; Why do you want to live in a hermetically sealed house? I can think of all sorts of problems you could have with this. It sounds like the perfect vessel to develop allergies and sinus problems.

[@martinhickey3655]

Passiv Haus designed buildings are not hermetically sealed as this would prevent the evaporation of moisture from inside to outside if the structure. The air leakage paths are mainly covered in breather membranes, which allow water vapour to escape but prevent ingress. MVHR systems if well designed have filters on the incoming air supply to take out allergens and pollen. The air quality inside will therefore be much higher than outside. As these buildings are not draughty, it is easy to open windows if you want natural ventilation, without losing your tempered air from inside. However the mechanical ventilation will provide more oxygen than simply opening doors and windows. These comments are from someone who has built to certifiable standard in Passiv Haus, on a building with 1600 m2 of floor area

[@pepegalego]

@@martinhickey3655 thank you very much for the information

[@arekarek1991]

In Poland is really working well.

[@MichaelPickles]

Sounds like it's not designed very well. I don't know why I didn't go for a heat pump + solar with that property

[@ianbower7756]

A friend’s house was built to this standard and is completely sealed. In the winter, the only time oxygen is replenished is when she enters or leaves (the door is open for a few seconds). When I visit I usually fall asleep because of lack of oxygen. Surely this is really unhealthy?

[@james.telfer]

Then it's not been built properly - Passivhaus specifies a heat exchanging air circulation system for this very reason.

[@tlangdon12]

If you were really falling asleep due to lack of oxygen, you wouldn't have woken up again.

[@matthewjarrett6647]

Wait he spends £150 a month on gas and electric after all that work. I spend £100 a month and just have a modern gas combi. Alongside 8kwh of solar on roof which generates excess in summer to offset against energy bill. And my set up was a lot cheaper than all this. By the way mine is a 4 bed detached with 2 bathrooms.

[@Sapphire-the-Cat]

Great video!! Good to get an idea of the reality of living with these technologies. It had a bit of a dystopic feel for me! The video plus the comments here are great for helping me to decide what not to do! Great insight!

[@samnichols4361]

My main issue with Passive House principles is that it basically only works for the moderately to extremely wealthy in the UK - as can be seen from this video, the spec is so high that it just increases the build and maintenance cost to an extraordinarily high level.

[@Soulrollsdeep]

Can anyone else other than those in that bracket, afford to build their own house? Is that your point?

[@samnichols4361]

I guess my point is that passivhaus is workable at scale with the right solutions built from the outset. Norwegian housing works in this way they think primarily about how to keep a house warm without turning the heating on and have incentives to build to it built in. At the moment the actual movement in the UK can only be a niche pursuit as housing policy isn’t built in that way. We can build differently we just choose not to incentivize it as such and thus PassivHaus currently only works by working through very committed homeowners

[@SimonEllwood]

I think you will inefficient houses are the ones people cannot afford to run. Passive houses are cheaper in TCO over their lifetime. There are a lot of huge overpriced passive houses but there are also affordable ones.

[@skiathosmobi]

Excellent..👍👍👍👍👍

[@highdough2712]

Sounds like an HRV is being used instead of an ERV, which would solve the dry air problem.

[@mikeharvey9811]

Thanks, I really didn’t like the idea of a passive house, even less now! Barb

[@rsmith02]

This isn't really a passive house.

[@derekferguson385]

I’ll pass on the passive house thanks.

[@TheDamianDixon]

"Cost 150 a month elec and gas" seems high. My 4 bed 1960s semi cost over a year is around 40 a month for electricity and oil.

[@brianlopez8855]

I always wondered what it would be like living on a Space Station: Now I know.

[@thomasschafer7268]

😅was für ein Witz. Das können auch nur Leute sagen,die keine Ahnung haben.

[@chimpdongs]

Meanwhile my new build has a massive airbrick in the living room so lots of freezing cold air and come in during winter.

[@SkillBuilder]

Do you have an open fire?

[@dunk496]

So downstairs is perfectly sealed... but upstairs isn't whaat? You do not need a heating system in a passive house. Thats the whole point. @Skill builder. I'm surprised.

[@peep39]

overly dry air is not healthy

[@RogerHolden]

I'd assume the system prevents that?

[@NitrousAvster]

It all depends on the MVHR unit used@@RogerHolden

[@lelllooooo]

If dry air is a problem, ERV (moisture recovery) core should be used in MVHR system, rather than regular HRV one.

[@AlexSavage]

Is this house certified?

[@mrblack61]

haha, with 9" walls, my 1930s house is one big thermal bridge 😁

[@james.telfer]

Same! 🥶

[@davesimms5397]

Trouble is with the standing charge, the cash cow for energy companies, you can't save that much.

[@langy1318]

He said no air from outside ….that’s wrong surely it should be air from outside coming into the house warmed by the outgoing air via the heat recovery system.

[@Swwils]

Look where the windows are installed. This guy got mugged by people who dont know what they are doing and the performance is evidence for that.

[@ROOBOY-p3x]

all external doors need airlocks