Public Funding for Oaklee Housing Association Limited

Development of a Decision Tool, integrated within an Energy Management System, for predicting outcomes of energy-related building retrofit actions, plus development of domestic demand side management functionality to enhance system stability, improve electricity market efficiency, increase wind energy utilisation and reduce carbon emissions.

This scheme has already been successful in achieving funding under phase 1 (post completion and early occupancy) and so this application will hopefully continue on from this to allow information to be gained over a longer period of time. The scheme itself is a small development on the Western outskirts of Dungannon, and is designed to meet Passivhaus Standard and receive full Passivhaus certification. It also will achieve Level 4 of The Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH), which is higher than the required Code Level 3 in Northern Ireland.

Background In Autumn 2010 The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) set a competition for Housing Associations to develop a scheme with the aim that it should achieve the passivhaus Standard. NIHE owned a development site with outline planning approval for five dwellings, and it was proposed that the scheme would be developed on this site. Oaklee Homes Group have taken a number of measures relating to sustainability in recent years, appointing an Energy Officer in 2008 and setting a number of targets as part of a five year Energy and Sustainable Development Strategy. One of the goals within this Strategy was to develop to higher standards than required and Oaklee had already developed the first homes in Northern Ireland to Level 4 of The Code for Sustainable Homes and was at Design Stage with properties to Code Level 5. The opportunity to develop a scheme to passivhaus standard was therefore very appealing and Oaklee entered the NIHE competition and were subsequently successful in taking this scheme forward. One major challenge before starting on site was to ensure all of the necessary consents were in place with a very limited time frame, with work commencing on site towards the end of March 2011 and a development timeframe of 1 year. Oaklee were keen that this scheme achieved full passivhaus certification so as to ensure a high quality trial project. Experience of passivhaus principles and construction techniques are still limited in Northern Ireland and so full certification gave further confirmation that this standard had been achieved as designed. The Development This scheme consists of 3 x 5 person/3bed and 2 x 6 person/4bed terraced houses. Each home was designed to meet a number of standards, which made the design process more complicated e.g. they had to achieve planning and building regulations, Level 4 of The Code for Sustainable Homes, Lifetimes Homes, Secured by Design and NI DSD Guidelines etc. The scheme did lend itself to passivhaus design in that the homes were on a south facing plot and had deciduous trees along the southern boundary which would help with shading. The homes are built using a timber frame construction with insulation fitted on site. In achieving the Passivhaus standard a number of key areas were considered including; 1. Insulation Levels 2. Air Permeability 3. Thermal Bridging 4. Windows & Doors 5. Mechanical Ventilation Mechanical Design A number of possible options for heating were examining with the final decision being an LPG boiler for each house from one communal LPG tank. Each home has a thermal store which the Boiler contributes to along with the solar hot water panels. Domestic hot water is drawn through a coil in the thermal store and so there is always an adequate supply of hot water. Heating is distributed from the thermal store primarily through the air (MVHR system) with a few radiators also in place. Tenant Lifestyles A key aim of the development is to ensure that the occupants are able to live comfortably with very low running costs. One area recognised as a “make or break” factor to this was tenant attitudes and lifestyles within the homes. If tenants’ didn’t use their homes as designed then the potential financial savings would not be achieved. The tenants were selected from the Northern Ireland common waiting list and so lifestyles and environmental awareness etc could not be factored in to the selection process. Whilst this could be viewed in a negative way and as a potential risk to the schemes success, it also has a number of benefits, primarily a realistic view on how a home is lived in. A number of means were used in order to reduce the risk surrounding tenant lifestyles e.g. 1. A pre-allocation information meeting 2. Advanced opportunity to view homes 3. Pre-Handover viewing 4. Handover 5. Tenant User Guides and posters in each home 6. Industry Open Day 7. Follow up support One particular challenge was the language barrier with only two of the five families having English as their first language. Interpreters where used on a number of occasions and communication had to be via family members (acting as translators) at times. Monitoring Oaklee Homes Group successfully applied for funding from the Technology Strategy Board through their Buildings Performance Evaluation Competition and will receive funding for monitoring this development as part of both Phase 1 (Post Completion and Early Occupancy) and Phase 2 (In Use and Post Occupancy) studies. The study period will last over two years. The study of these homes will include additional analysis and testing e.g. design reviews and thermal imaging, and also the provision of extensive monitoring and metering with regular reports on performance, including areas such as energy use, temperature, humidity and CO2 levels). There are also qualitative surveys carried out as part of the study with residents providing feedback on their homes. Benefits of the Study This development is unique in Northern Ireland and so the opportunity to monitor these homes in detail and learn lessons from them is greatly appreciated by Oaklee Homes Group. This monitoring would not have taken place without funding from The Technology Strategy Board. It is expected that the results of the monitoring will outline the success of the project in terms of resident satisfaction and reduced energy costs. The design team have been involved in the monitoring process and so are able to apply lessons from this scheme to their future developments and it is the intention of Oaklee Homes Group to share knowledge of the schemes performance to NIHE and the construction industry so that future developments across Northern Ireland may benefit.