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The Company Useful Information:
- High Performance Homes Benefit From Sustainable Construction
- Severn Gorge Puts Trust in NBT
- NBT insulates ‘English building’ museum
- NBT insulates multi award winning Waingels College
- NBT insulates luxury Scottish countryside home
- NBT insulates award winning recyclable school building
- NBT insulates ‘Outstanding’ SusCon
- NBT insulates the UK’s first affordable certified Passivhaus
- NBT envelope succeeds at Expo
- NBT meets ‘Excellent’ criteria for One Brighton
NBT insulates the UK’s first affordable certified Passivhaus
Natural Building Technologies’ (NBT’s) high performance wood fibre insulation systems have been used in the construction of the UK’s first low cost, zero carbon certified Passivhaus. Developed by the United Welsh Housing Association, the ‘Larch House’ was designed by bere:architects as prototype social housing, to be replicable in future affordable housing schemes throughout the country. The three-bedroom timber frame property features NBT’s Pavaclad woodfibre insulation system beneath external larch cladding, delivering the exceptional levels of thermal insulation required to satisfy Passivhaus standards.
NBT’s Pavaclad woodfibre insulation system features 100mm NBT Pavatherm Plus woodfibre boards installed in a continuous layer over the building’s timber frame, with infill insulation between the studs, and OSB boards used on the internal face to provide racking strength and airtightness. The system forms a thermal shell which reduces thermal bridging, resulting in the Larch House’s 0.095W/m2K exterior wall U-value and an impressive airtightness level of 0.21m3/hr/m2@50Pa. The woodfibre insulation system also delivers the high thermal mass required to prevent summertime overheating.
Situated one thousand feet above sea level in an exposed and misty hilltop location, the design process was greatly assisted by the technical support provided by NBT, particularly through the WUFI moisture modeling service offered by the company. WUFI software allows analysis of how, with respect to moisture, different structural materials will perform within a construction subjected to local weather conditions. This analysis demonstrated the suitability of NBT’s Pavaclad system for use in the Larch House’s specific location and climate. The woodfibre material’s inherent properties are able to deal effectively with interstitial condensation in order to ensure the long-term integrity of the building’s structure, as well as safeguarding a healthy living environment.
NBT’s natural insulation solutions also offer significant environmental benefits. The wood fibre insulation locks up more carbon than is used throughout its manufacture and delivery to site, and, due to its 95% plus waste wood composition, is wholly recyclable.
Justin Bere, Director of bere:architects, comments on the project’s use of NBT’s systems: “We always try to use natural products where possible, and NBT’s Pavaclad insulation system stood out as the obvious natural insulation choice for the Larch House. The company’s sustainable systems offer considerable thermal, acoustic and health benefits, and the waterproof but breathable coating of the Pavaclad insulation is an important attribute behind the larch cladding.
“The excellent guarantees provided with NBT’s systems, as well as their recognition throughout the industry, offer reassurance of their long-lasting high performance.
“NBT’s technical support was also invaluable in terms of identifying the most suitable materials for the long term health of the building’s structure and its occupants.”
The Larch House features solar thermal and photovoltaic solar panels on the roof, which meet the building’s water heating requirements, as well as triple glazed Passivhaus certified windows, and a low energy heat recovery ventilation system.
