Beattie Passive, who recently won Passivhaus certification for their continually insulated build system, has completed the construction of four three-bedroomed Passivhaus-certified houses in Dunfermline for Fife Housing Association. The houses meet the Scottish government’s new Gold Standard, the first time this has been achieved in Scotland. Beattie Passive was invited to the Scottish Parliament in April 2012 to be the first in the UK to be presented with official PHPP certification. 

In a build program lasting 25 weeks which attracted high-profile attention including a visit from the Scottish Government’s Housing Minister, Keith Brown. Beattie Passive worked with the Skills Development Centre in Fife, training and re-skilling young unemployed 16-18 year olds who were involved throughout the project. A clear demonstration of this simple, methodical system’s scope for construction by a combination of skilled and unskilled staff, participants began by constructing the build components at the Centre and followed the build process through to completion by assembling the components on site.

One of the most difficult challenges of building to passive standards is the stringent air tightness requirement of 0.6m²/hm² @50 pa – more than a tenfold improvement on current building regulations. Ron Beattie confirms that “We were delighted that the first air test we carried out in Fife in April gave a result of 0.4m²/hm² @ 50pa, even lower than current passive house requirements”.

Of lasting and tangible benefit to the tenants who moved into their new homes end of August 2012 is peace of mind that their energy bills will be reduced by as much as 90%, a very real issue for many tenants.   For more information visit www.beattiepassive.com