Personal story:

We have lived in East Finchley for 37 years in Edwardian houses. We wanted to downsize and stay in the area, and to find a house that could provide more suitable accommodation and which we could make more energy efficient, a 21st century home. We do not own a car and are keen allotment growers and take an interest in our impact on the environment. We needed a garage for our bicycles, space for our office, a pottery studio, plenty of day light and a garden. This 60’s house fitted the bill.

Motivations:

We are Architects who have worked on designing homes for many years and have a long held interest in energy conservation and ‘healthy homes’. Our first aim was to improve the fabric of the home to make it thermally more efficient. We have also explored the practicalities of introducing more natural materials with their ability to deal with moisture and more responsive thermal properties. The use of solar ‘bling’ was secondary in a way, but it made sense to use the sun’s energy, contribute to the grid and save on energy bills

Property background:

The house was built in 1962 and had been in the same ownership since built until we bought it. Very little had been done to the house and it was in a poor state of repair. There was minimal insulation in the loft space, with gaps. Windows to the front of the house had been replaced with poor double glazed upvc windows, whose seals had failed. At the rear the original 1960’s single glazed timber windows remained – a very much better product but poorly preforming.

Key changes made:

• New double glazed Velfac 200 aluminum windows with timber inner frames in all windows. Velfac 200 front door. ID Systems double glazed sliding folding timber door with aluminum outer. Velux double glazed roof lights.
• Knauf white wool to cavity walls to front and back walls – to complete insulation to all external original cavity walls.  New cavity wall to garage conversion comprising 100mm inner skin of Celcon Solar blockwork with 75mm of Celotex CW4000 cavity insulation, outer skin brickwork.
• 200mm of pavaflex plus 50/100mm of sheep’s wool under existing concrete tile roof. 0.17 W/m2K on pitch, 0.16W/m2K to upright sections, 0.13W/m2K to flat areas with 3 layer sheep’s wool. 240mm pavaroof system to new pitched roof over former garage 0.16W/m2K. 11mm OSB used as airtightness layer sealed at joints with Siga sicral tape.
• 70mm Celotex FR5000 to garage conversion. No change to original house floor.
• 100mm sheeps wool ceiling insulation.
• 140mm woodfibre insulation between rafters with 100mm interlocking woodfibre insulation over rafters with recycled concrete tiles over.
• 19kw Viessmann Vitodens 200 system boiler with weather compensation Votorol 300 programmer. 955 TRVs.
• Apricus AP20 evacuated tube solar hot water collector. Copper industries 210lt unvented twin coil solar cylinder. Weissman solar controller.
• 8no. Panasonic HIT H250 EO1 panels with SMA solar inverter.
• LED lights installed in all fixed lights. Low energy bulbs used in all pendant fittings.
• Low usage shower head and taps to sink and basins, dual flush WC’s. Diverter to rainwater into butt for garden use.

Measures installed in detail:

• New double glazing throughout
• Cavity wall insulation to front and back walls
• 200mm of pavaflex plus 50/100mm of sheeps wool under existing concrete tile roof
• 70mm Celotex floor insulation
• 100mm ceiling insulation
• 140mm woodfibre insulation between rafters with 100mm interlocking woodfibre insulation over rafters with recycled concrete tiles over
• 19kw Viessmann Vitodens 200 system boiler
• Evacuated tube solar hot water collector, unvented twin coil solar cylinder
• Photo voltaic panels
• LED lighting throughout
• Low energy appliances
• Water saving devices

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