Isle of Man based Design & Build developers, Complete Construction Services and Energy Services & Renewable Technology specialists SNX Ltd. are delighted to announce the completion of their first private residential project in association with multi-award winning Passive System build designers, Beattie Passive.
Built high on the Howe Road with breath-taking views over the Port St. Mary coast, the 4 bedroom Manx vernacular cottage named Corvalla, hides a structure built to the highest system design methodology that even goes beyond Passivhaus standards, delivering a home that is so smartly insulated, design efficient and air tight, that a traditional type of central heating system is simply unnecessary.
The factory produced system was constructed entirely on the Isle of Man under license by Complete Construction’s Island based workforce, before being erected on site with all materials locally sourced wherever possible. The Beattie Passive system is all modelled in Revit, a building information modelling software (BIM) that allows users to design a building, its structure and components in 3D, annotate the model with 2D drafting elements, and access building information from the building model's database. This allows fast on-site erection with minimal material wastage, as every component is itemised within the Revit design package for each unit.
Beattie Passive’s system offers full design flexibility and can be applied to any style, shape or size of building whether commercial or residential and is the first system in the UK to be awarded certification as a complete build system by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany. Having already won the UK Passivhaus Awards in 2014 for Cost and Buildability, their retrofit TCosy version of the system has just secured the 2015 Buildings & Energy Efficiency award for Innovative Product of the Year.
The new build Beattie Passive system will reduce energy demand by up to 90% and provide a much healthier living environment than a traditional build property with the Mechanical Ventilation & Heat Recovery system incorporated in to the house structure, changing the air several times an hour. With far higher levels of fire safety, sound-proofing, thermal efficiency and air tightness than called for by Building Regulations, every single property must pass a rigorous testing programme to measure the thermal efficiency through a Thermographic survey, the air leakage through an Air Tightness Test and sound and noise levels through Acoustic testing, as well as a dedicated structural survey. Every property must achieve the required standard in each instance to gain certification from Beattie Passive. This only leaves us a small step shy of zero carbon development which could be achieved through a solar PV installation for example.
James Vickers, Managing Director of Complete Construction said: ‘What better way to celebrate our 21st anniversary than to raise the bar in the standard of construction we are now making available on the Isle of Man. Working with the SNX and Beattie Passive teams has been a joy throughout the entire process and the end result is a stunning, robust home that our client is absolutely thrilled with. The adoption of this type of development will benefit the Island in so many ways and not just with the vastly reduced running costs and improved comfort levels. At a time when we are heading to crisis levels of skilled workers in the construction sector, the Beattie Passive system opens up a great opportunity to train and develop a much needed resource of expertise on the Island to build and erect our systems, which will go a long way to easing this problem.’
Complete Construction has regularly been recognised, both individually, and in collaboration with SNX, at the Governments Annual Energy Awards for their major Private Sector ECO House developments in both contemporary and traditional styles, incorporating the very latest Renewable Technologies at every appropriate opportunity. It was a natural step therefore, to venture into Passive development and provide the Island’s property owners with an ethical, cost effective option that reduces running costs vastly, without any sacrifice to performance in return.
Corvalla owner Kevin Kniveton said: ‘My experience of my new passive system home has surpassed all my expectations. I knew that my utility bills would be a fraction of what I would ordinarily pay in a traditionally built home, but even I was surprised at how low my quarterly bill over 3 of the most demanding months up to the end of December has actually been. Knowing that future bills will decrease much further still when the solar thermal takes over the domestic hot water production and with lower demand generally, I just can’t understand why all homes are not built this way.’
The future would appear bright for future Passive developments which would place the Isle of Man at the forefront of developing the latest green technologies and methodologies. The opportunity is now there for the Isle of Man to create a cultural shift in acceptance and adoption of ethical construction which would both reduce the financial burden on tax payers and establish a higher quality of living and working conditions for all concerned.
Ron Beattie, Chairman of Beattie Passive said: ‘Beattie Passive are very pleased to see the first house delivered on the Island, and Corvalla is a great example of a successful partnership with SNX and Complete Construction Services. As a team we look forward to delivering many more high quality, Passivhaus homes across the Island.’
Whether it is working alongside local Architects and their clients, converting their designs and ideas in to the Beattie Passive system, or taking on a Design & Build package from the outset, the teams at CCS and SNX can provide the most future-proof, energy efficient home you could ever wish for without any sacrifice to comfort or practicality.
Steve Brown, Managing Director of Castletown based SNX said: ‘Once again our continued awareness of the latest Energy Efficient developments within the construction sector brings an absolute gem of a system to the Isle of Man, which is wholly appropriate, affordable and beneficial to the island’s unique circumstances and infrastructure, both in terms of its new build and retrofit needs. From taking up the licenses from Beattie Passive and working closely with James and his team at CCS, who have invested heavily in bringing a live, working case study to the Island, we can demonstrate unequivocally that our systems work and perform brilliantly here and that the local workforce can build and develop to Passive standards. We are now deep into discussions with both Government and Private Sector clients and already have further projects about to start or in the pipeline. Exciting times indeed.’
Photo - Corvalla
