new bold design: Greendale Cottage Wins Top Northern Award

Building on the recent success of Elm Tree House in winning a local LABC award in May, new bold design has now won the award for Best Individual New Home at the 2014 Northern LABC Building Excellence Awards held at The Hilton Hotel in Newcastle.

Greendale Cottage is the first Band A passive house in County Durham, providing a very low energy home and office in a Conservation Area and the Upper Weardale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  Constructed in accordance with PassivHaus design principles, it is a highly-insulated, airtight building with no central heating system, relying on natural solar gains and an MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) system to provide a comfortable environment without the need for any fossil fuels.

The small amount of additional heat input required in winter is provided by a room-sealed woodburning boiler stove which mainly heats the hot water and towel rails in the bathrooms. Solar thermal panels heat the water in summer and solar PV panels supplement the electricity supply. High-performance, triple-glazed windows and doors help to ensure that an internal temperature of around 20 degC is maintained throughout the building, whatever the weather.