LeenToo

thanks John really appreciate your explanations its helping me get a handle on why i need to factor in a heat pump.....There is a grant for them currently in Ireland so that will take some of the sting out of it........

thanks sound advice and really helpful

Thanks for this, just wondering why you didn't go for UFH from the start ? My initial thinking was that if I am going to build a passive house I wont need heating but I am being disabused of this notion fairly rapidly..........

That sounds like a very well thought out system John, thanks for the info. When you say you charge at night this is building up heat to send around the pipes later in the day or does that actively go into the pipes during the night? Also will it work to cool during the summer , i was under the impression that there would be issues with condensation on the floor if you used it for cooling? Sorry for my non tech knowledge I am slowly being dragged into the 21st century.......

My architect was telling me a story of someone who had installed A2A and it didn't work properly or he didn't like it and he was very unhappy. I am not sure i would like UFH having lived in a house with solid fuel and cold/cool floors all my life. Wonder about what it is like having hot air blowing around a room but reckon that a passive house would probably heat up very quickly so A2A would only be on sporadically. Also modern tastes seems to be for houses to be 19-21 degrees C whereas I am happy with less and uncomfortable with more, that comes from living in some very old droughty damp houses in the west of ireland over the years. Interested in how you find the A2A and do you use for cooling also. Thanks!

Thanks John its only 130 sq m so that's not too bad based on your calculations. My reservation is spending big on a heat pump that I am thinking I may not use too much. I don't like electric radiators per se but if they don't cost much to install and I am not using them much to heat the house this seems like a good compromise. I will definitely have a good solar PV system and decent battery so some of the electricity will be home grown.

Yes thanks for that John but way over my head. I don't know what the heat demand will be as we only just have planning and are looking at the specs for timber frame etc currently

Not sure what part O is or whether we have that in Ireland? Hoping to build to Enerphit standard so well insulated and airtight yes. I was thinking AC alright but my architect kind of put me off with stories about someone who tried it and wasn't happy. We have a canopy planned to shade southern windows so hopefully this will offset overheating to some degree and ye we will use solar pv and night rate to heat water. Have you seen anyone using AC for this kind of build and were they happy with it. I have been thinking about electric radiators in lieu of AC. Thanks for the response Jason

@Mayobuild interested to know what you went with for a finish. I am in the same boat, don't want to fork out big bucks for a heat pump that may get very little use.........

So no point in using a breathable IWI?

yes I think I will use MVHR

Yes because it is old concrete made from beach sand probably including large stones I have been told by a conservation architect who works on these buildings to treat it as a breathing wall.

Hi Just wondering has anyone any experience of this either using hempcrete blocks or the hemp panels as an internal skin up against an existing mass concrete wall? I have a theory that being breathable they would make for a nice living environment and enhance heat retention with EWI of wood fibre or something else breathable on the outside. I used a hemp and lime plaster on internal walls of a stone house in a previous project and was impressed with the result

Hi Everyone, I am just about to start on a renovation and extension project in Co Clare hoping to bring a 1920s land commission up to EnerPhit/Passive standard. The project is currently awaiting planning permission decision due next week and then its all systems go. Looking forward to learning from this great community best jason the pic is ground zero.....