Comfort Zone
A Highly Modern Energy-Efficient Home in Dublin
A highly energy efficient home can also be an elegant, timeless design; and a house equipped with the latest technological advances in green energy can provide, at the same time, a comfortable and cosy family home - these arguments for 'green architecture' have been convincingly proven by this stylish new home designed by NBK Architects. The key to the success of this contemporary home is that the green technology has been seamlessly integrated from the early design stage and not 'boltedon' at a later stage. "To create a highly energy efficient home with as low a carbon footprint as possible" was the brief given to us at the outset, recall architects Neil Burke Kennedy and Craig Cassie. Their clients had spent "many happy years" in a large Victorian house but "high fuel bills and drafty cold winters" finally persuaded them to embark on a new build project that would give them space, light and, most important of all, a level of comfort that was missing in their old home.
Environmental concerns were considered in all aspects of the design. The house was built by the highly regarded contractor Meisterwerk in just as two weeks using an innovative prefabricated 'brettstapel' (stacked plank) timber construction system. "The brettstapel system has a 80-mm solid timber internal wall with 160-mm insulation which makes the house completely air-tight, super insulated and immune to heat-loss", explain architects Neil Burke Kennedy and Craig Cassie. A heat recovery ventilation system has been installed in conjunction with the air-tight shell to ensure ventilation, moderate the interior room temperature and reduce the dependency on the back-up gas-fired central heating. Solar panels on the roof provide both heating and hot water supply and are boosted by a highly-efficient gas boiler only when necessary in colder months.
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