O'Leary Sludds Architects - Passive House Extension, Wexford
Passive House Extension, Wexford
John & Clare contacted us in 2013. Their 1970’s house was damp, cold and had very poor natural light. They wanted to refurbish, re-organise and extend their home to create a well-lit “L” shaped open plan living, dining and sitting area to enhance their lifestyle and add value.
The extension is a play on “boxes” that allow the rooms to have a dual aspect and corner windows maximising the natural light throughout the day. The extension wraps around a raised outdoor terrace area which is accessed from the sitting area, and overlooks the rear garden.
John & Clare’s wish to have as much natural light as possible throughout the whole day helped with achieving the EnerPHit Standard (the Passive House Certification for Retrofits), as the large glazed elements to the south and east facing elevations allowed for ample solar gain.
The U-values of the external envelope were as low as 0.12 W/m2K.
The airtight level achieved at the time of construction was 0.96 h-1 air changes at +/- 50 pascal
‘Fluffy’ the dog loves his new home, which we accommodated under the new terrace. Unfortunately it was not Passive, but Fluffy still thinks it is nice and cosy
