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Author: Admin Tags: Net Zero, Passivhaus, building standards, future homes standard, Future Homes Ready

Future Homes Ready

Energy saving and environmentally efficient homes are at the heart of business for forward thinking North Devon based door company, Principal Doorsets.

Proposed changes in the UK building regulations are underway expecting all new homes to produce 31% lower carbon emissions by Spring 2022. This is the first step in the Government’s move towards their Future Homes Standards, which aims to radically improve the energy performance of new homes with 75-80% less carbon emissions by 2025.

Since 2016, pioneers at Principal Doorsets have been working extensively with European manufacturer Moralt AG on a Passivhaus range for the UK to provide a product that not only meets the Future Homes Standard but also additional performance standards for security, fire and smoke penetration.

Further implementation in 2025 could see U-Values drop to the levels now applied in Passivhaus standards. Thanks to the advanced work and innovative research of the team at Principal Doorsets, they are already reaching these standards making them ideally place to provide solutions.

 

Stan Bond, Principal Doorsets Director and Co-Founder, says “Passivhaus is well established in Northern Europe in providing high level comfort while using very little energy for heating and cooling. We wanted to take this extensive knowledge forward in to the UK. Over the past five years we have been working on tailoring a Passivhaus range for Principal Doorsets which not only meets the Government’s Future Homes Standards for zero carbon homes but also the additional performance standards necessary to satisfy UK building requirements.”

“The Passivhaus range from Principal Doorsets includes PAS24 security testing along with fire (both 30 and 60 minutes) and BS 476-31.1:1983 Part 31. Methods for measuring smoke penetration through doorsets and shutter assemblies – Section 31.1 Method of measurement under ambient temperature conditions cold smoke to future standards.”

Furthermore, the Passivhaus product achieves the highest classification (class 4) for air permeability when locked. Class 4 indicates that the door system has been tested under pressures up to 600Pa and reaches the highest quality of system sealing, engineering, and manufacturing to ensure that all panel joints seal together fully to stop as much air travel through the door system as possible.

Existing homes will also be subject to higher standards with improvements in the standards of extensions to make homes warmer and reduce carbon emissions and this includes the replacement of doors.

The Government has further announced a consultation on higher performance targets of non-domestic buildings, which will also have to be zero carbon ready by 2025.

A full technical specification for the Future Homes Standard will be consulted on in 2023 with the necessary legislation introduced in 2024 ahead of implementation in 2025.

Passivhaus front doorset with side lightsInside shot of passivhaus doorset with sidelights