Eco(ish) house suggestions?

SVGeorge

Hello all,
We are about to embark on design & build of a new house on a stand alone site.
We would like to incorporate eco aspects that are feasible & not over costly.


The more I look around the more confused I get & this forum seems to a have a number of contributers who have already either done some research or have perhaps already built a house with some or a lot of Eco aspects.

As a starting point, I would assume a well insulated construction which maximises passive solar gain to the south & minimises heat loss to north, but then the questions start:
What is the most practical & cost effective construcion method to use?
Is 2 storey better than 1?
How to heat the house when the sun decides not to come out and play?
How to have enough hot water to satisfy a family?
Are there architects which specialise in this type of design?
Any recommended architects in the South East?
Are there builders who specialise in this type of construction?
Any recommended builders in the South East who are competent in more Eco contructions?
What aspects of build might be possible for a reasonably competent DIYer?

I would appreciate any suggestions or advice on above as I reckon before I approach an architect we need to establish our own ideas & preferences.

Thanks,
George

CJhaughey

Have a look at www.scanhome.ie

judesherry

Susitainable Ireland have a list of ECO Architects. www.sustainable.ie,

spanners

All I can say is .. Timber Frame , Geothermal heating ,, that is what we went for ,, I can recommend the timber frame bit ,, still too warm for to know abouy the Geothermal bit .. think it will be worth it ,,. Best of luck ,,
Tim.

tcoen

Try ICF from polarwall.ie with a small footprint style build e.g a two story or dormer. GO with alot of insulation and mechanical heat recovery ventilation. If you keep the house around 1500 sq ft then you won't need a big heating system. ICF houses are starting to crop up alot in Ireland now.

billy_beckham

Spanners have you got underfloor heating with your geo? If so how do you control it ie as regards running pumps etc?

GG66

I just purchased this book, I wish I bought it months ago before I started building. If you're serious about eco building then it's well worth reading.

*http://tinyurl.com/cp2b3

JerryQ

I'd recommend having a look at the Tek Haus construction from Kingspan - uses "SIPS" Structural Insulated Panels. Incredibly quick build, enormous insulation (figures for UK are about 200 a year for heating a 4bed family home).
The Geo option looked pretty dear until recently (15 year pay back period) - but with the recent hikes in fuel prices it looks attractive again.
Between Tek and Geo, your heating would be so low that other eco options such as panels/house position etc would make very little difference.

Tek Haus is so air-tight that you'd need to put in a forced air venting system - this can be matched with a heat exchanger - to warm up the incoming fresh air with almost all the heat from air being pumped out.

TEK is also very attractive for self-build
..lay down concrete floor plate
..TEK arrive and you have a watertight and fully insulated (right to the peak of the roof) house in about 3 days. You can then take your time with slates, wiring etc and don't have to worry as much about scheduling tradesmen.

CJhaughey

JerryQ
That is exactly the same method that scanhome use, in fact they do the slab as well with all services and UFH cast in.

patrido

tek looks very impressive, and in theory SIPs in look like becoming the future of building.

but, there are lots of teething problems in this area. developers of estates who were banking on a short build time, have been left stranded for months because errors in the design meant houses had to go back to the factory for rework or replacement.

also, some suppliers are reportedly a lot more keen to talk to big developers and not to individuals building their own home.

aislingw

Also look into poroton blocks - www.fbt.ie - terracotta blocks used a lot on the continent, Germany etc - all the lidls in Ireland are built using them - the block itself is the insulation, ie, it's a single leaf system, one wall of blocks and that's it. Very handy for a self-build.

YAPP

Just built our 2500ft 2 storey HOuse.

System = 150mm Timber Frame
Heating= Gerothermal (air to liquid / heat exchange pump)

TF is ideal for self build as you dont have to wait till the builder gets his finger out to get roofers, plumbers, elecs, glazers in and moving; once the TF is up follow on trades are in and out in weeks, compaired to block builders holding up the show.....

Manager your site so that you schedule (a) your windows to go in 1 to 2 weeks after the frame starts and (b) the roofer puts on felt & battens. then at end of week 2 you have a sealed dry working environment inside for both elec & plumbers to work on, with blocklayers and roof tilers working outside (all 4 trades using the scaffolding for a minimum time frame - less scaffold hire €€€?!)

Geo-thermal - free renewable energy!!!!!
Cost of running central heating with oil burner:
Cost= Elec to run system (pump), and cost of oil in tank every few months.
with initial set up cost and annual maintenance. (Oil is 90% of this total figure)

Cost of running geo-thermal:
Cost= elec to run system (pump),
with initial set up cost and annual maintenance.

Spot the difference....!!!!!

It seems to be working out so that the sys will have paid for its self inside
6 years easy (going on current home heating oil prices....)

Insulaiton:
Woodfibre seems to be a great option, with hemp biproduct insulation becomming more and more popular lately - look into these.....

Square block of a 2 storey, means (a) less pipework running the lenght of a bungalow loosing heat and (b) becuase heat rises you get more benefit of your GF heat source.

House position, design and window design allowing for max solar gain from south facing hills.... Again free re-newable energy.....

I could go on.....

Does anyone have info on Windsave - Self generating elec power for domestic dwellings....?

All the best with your adventure in building, and it will be an adventure!!!!

YAPP
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