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It’s been a six year journey and now Ben Adam-Smith and his family are enjoying their very own Passive House.
Ben’s background is professional radio and video production. During the past few years he’s put these skills to use producing podcasts and videos to showcase other people’s building projects.
House Planning Help
In 2012 Ben founded House Planning Help to collect and share all the information he started to learn on the way to designing and building his own home. His mission is to encourage people towards the “…houses we should be building in the 21st Century.”
Ben’s journey has taken him around the UK and has introduced him to leaders in the field of energy efficient house design. I recommend listening to Ben’s podcast episodes, even if you’re planning a home outside of the UK.
What’s it like to live in a Passive House?
Ben said it felt completely natural to move in to their new home. His family felt at home straight away. This sounds like a testament to good design all round, not just the insulation, airtightness and ventilation that ensures a healthy and comfortable interior.
Learning from the Journey
As with most building projects, there are always a few things you might do different next time. But to date, Ben has only identified very minor details that he’d change. He told me there were no major surprises or mistakes made.
The Design and Build Team
Building a Passive House is a challenge, particularly when doing it for the first time. It requires attention to detail in features such as airtightness. This is often something completely new for buildings and tradespeople who have not worked on a Passive House project before.
Ben’s project ran smoothly in this regard, despite having some Passive House first-timers on the job. As long as carpenters, plumbers, electricians and other sub-contractors know their trade well enough and are willing to embrace the challenge, Ben’s experience shows that you don’t need experienced Passive House professionals to product a good result. You just need good professionals.
How much does it cost?
Ben doesn’t hide from the fact that his project cost more than their original budget. Quite a lot more, in fact. Their original budget was around £400,000 and their final total will be closer to £600,000. But not a lot of this is because of making it Passive House. Ben says that being a Passive House doesn’t add that much, you just spend your money on different things. For example, a little bit more goes towards airtightness and a good quality ventilation system. Much less money is then required for expensive and complicated heating systems.
What’s next?
Ben and his family are very happy now in their own home. They don’t plan to, or need to repeat the process. Ben has clearly enjoyed the journey though and is keen to put his experience and enthusiasm to good use.
Keep in touch with Ben and his ongoing activities at House Planning Help.
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