Solar building study. Final report. Paxton Court House, Sheffield: Fid-Bau Portal

Solar building study. Final report. Paxton Court House, Sheffield

R. A. Hobday / G. Pane / J. Palmer / J. Brown / P. Shaw

This study is part of the Energy Performance Assessments Project sponsored by the Energy Technology Support Unit on behalf of the UK Department of Energy. The project aims to accelerate the uptake of low energy and passive solar design of buildings, through the use of field trials assess energy, cost and amenity issues in occupied low energy passive solar buildings. The buildings chosen cover the range of UK latitudes and climates. The house at Paxton Court in Sheffield is semi-detached with three bedrooms, loft and cellar. The main passive solar feature, is a conservatory running the full length of the south west facade and covering the ground and first floor. Total annual fuel use was estimated at 21277 kWh. Of this some 153 kWh/m(sup 2) GFA was used for space heating, providing comfortable internal temperatures. This is a reasonable performance. Solar performance was promising with estimated solar gains of 1967 kWh over the heating season. This is equivalent to 20% of the space heating energy used. The occupants were very satisfied with the levels of comfort achieved in the house. The design was considered successful in all respects and it sold quickly when placed on the market. The house cost 9% more to build than an equivalent non-solar house. This can mainly be attributed to the cost of the conservatory which was skillfully integrated into the overall design. For the additional cost the conservatory provided energy and amenity benefits and an increase in floor space over the reference. (author)