Four houses in Mansfield have become among fewer than 200 homes in the UK to officially achieve coveted Passivhaus accreditation for energy efficiency and ultra-low carbon emissions.

The two-bedroom semi-detached houses in Saundby Avenue were completed in May and designed to world-class energy efficiency and insulation standards in line with the council’s Green agenda to become carbon neutral by 2040.

The first of their kind in Mansfield, the homes are among only 181 Passivhaus certified homes in the UK.
Krzysztof Panfil and Jagoda Panfil, who were among the new tenants, have described how much they and their children, Kamil, 12, and three-year-old Bartosz, love their new home.

“The house is so lovely and warm, and it’s so quiet,” said Krzysztof.

“Because the walls are so well insulated we don’t hear any noise. We have not felt the need to put on any heating yet. The rooms are all still 20C to 25C.”

The Passivhaus Institute in Germany has issued its official certificates for the properties after they were assessed and reached the required criteria on heating, cooling, airtightness and non-renewal primary energy use.

Coun Marion Bradshaw, portfolio holder for Safer Communities, Housing and Wellbeing, added: “We are proud that Mansfield is among the very few places in the country that is building council housing to such a high environmental standard.

“These types of homes are pioneering and paving the way for the kind of standards that all new homes will probably have to meet in the future if this country is going to meet its commitment to being carbon neutral by 2050.

“And being low energy homes is not only good news in helping to tackle climate change, it also means they are extremely economical to heat.”

The Passivhaus design means the homes have high levels of insulation, extremely high-performance triple-glazed windows with insulated frames, plus a mechanical ventilation system.

These measures reduce heat loss so much that the homes should not need any central heating. Passive heat sources, including the sun, human occupants, and household appliances, help to provide sources of heating that are recovered through the property’s highly-efficient heat recovery system.