In recent years, Moffitt and Robinson Construction Ltd have earned an admirable reputation for energy efficient projects and for their collaborative approach with plumbing and heating contractors. Our company has a huge passion and interest into the Passive House. A Passive House is …
FMB Regional Master Builder Awards Winners 2023 - Sustainability Award
This was a new build to provide a home for a young family which would meet their energy efficiency criteria and modern ideas for living. The family wanted to build a new home …Read more
This was a new build to provide a home for a young family which would meet their energy efficiency criteria and modern ideas for living. The family wanted to build a new home to todays modern standards and make the most of the stunning view over Donegal Bay. The Architect for this project was Chris Allen of Chris Allen Architecture based in Enniskillen.
This project was the Northern Ireland 2019 winner for the category 'Low Carbon Project' at the Master Builder Awards. FMB Membership
Low Carbon Project
This project was the Northern Ireland 2019 winner for the category 'Low Carbon Project' at the Master Builder Awards. FMB Membership
Bathroom Project
This project was the Northern Ireland 2019 winner for the category 'Bathroom project' at the Master Builder Awards. FMB Membership
Bathroom Project
This project was the Northern Ireland 2019 winner for the category 'Bathroom project' at the Master Builder Awards. FMB Membership
Bathroom project
This project was the Northern Ireland 2019 winner for the category 'Bathroom project' at the Master Builder Awards. FMB Membership
Low Carbon Project
This project was the Northern Ireland 2019 winner for the category 'Low Carbon Project' at the Master Builder Awards. FMB Membership
Low Carbon Project
This project was the Northern Ireland 2019 winner for the category 'Low Carbon Project' at the Master Builder Awards. FMB Membership
The Energy Efficient Retirement Bungalow
Some years ago we embarked on a project to build a Passive House for a retired couple, who had been living in an old farm house at the time. The couple had contemplated …Read more Some years ago we embarked on a project to build a Passive House for a retired couple, who had been living in an old farm house at the time. The couple had contemplated renovating there old house, but after intensive planning this appeared to be too much work and too expensive. After visiting a Passive House we had previously designed the couple decided that was exactly what they wanted.
During the construction of house we used our own timber frame design, which has since been accredited by the Passive House Institute in Germany as a certified Passive House component. The exterior of the building was finished in block and plaster, which we discovered is suitable for our weather conditions after been testing throughout the years. The interior of the house is completely moisture diffusible which, again, is most suited to our humid climate. Rather than focussing on additional insulation, we concentrated on thermal bridging and air tightness as this is a much better approach and more economically viable.
The heating for the three-bedroom bungalow is provided by a condensing oil boiler and wood burning stove which also heats the house. The condensing boiler is a Grant Vortex condensing boiler with an average efficiency of 92%. The wood burning stove is a Stratford EB 9 stove with an efficiency of 67%, providing 4.5kW to the space and 7kW to the water/boiler.
The bungalow has been designed to maximise solar gain, and as a result, intuitive heating controls each room accordingly and will only turn on when required. A mechanical recovery system provides a change of air every 2.5 hours, and it even includes an extract in the hot press to benefit from the moisture of slightly damp clothes. The MVHR that was used was by Vent-Axia Kinetic Plus B with a heat recovery of 91%, a humidity sensor and summer bypass. This approach is an integral aspect of meeting Passive House standards, and as a result, the annual heating bill for the retirement bungalow stands at just £70 or 45 gallons of oil for heating and hot water.
For future projects our company would continue to be interested in designing to a Passive House Standard as we believe it is the way forward for building in the construction industry. Read less
We employed Moffitt and Robinson to carry out this build and, as we knew it would be, the build was a great success. Their passion for sustainable construction and providing a well-built comfortable home is common knowledge in the local area and indeed province wide.
This building sits very comfortably within our existing sustainable environment and the delight of the occupants is testament to the effort and attention to detail shown by the company.
\the energy efficiency of the building is excellent and it has not added to the running costs of the district heating system they are so good.
We are delighted the timber frame used has now been certified as a building component by the Passive House in Germany.
Due to the success of the building we are looking to extend the retirement area with another set of chalets, and the wider Camphill Community in the province are also looking at using this format to enhance their own communities.
If all homes were built to this standard we could dramatically reduce to the overall running costs and greatly enhance the health of our residents and staff.
Anya
Omagh Co. Tyrone
Jun 2018
We cannot praise Moffitt and Robinson enough for the quality of the home they have built for us. They helped us make the decision not renovate the existing dwelling, but to build the Passive House using timber frame. One of the best decisions we have made. We now have a beautiful home, which is comfortable throughout.
The ventilation system has been an eye opener to us, the freshness of the indoor air is amazing, as I suffer from asthma I find this has greatly eased my condition.
The running costs are remarkable, just £70 for one year oil and electric at £35 a month which includes the light for the farm buildings.
The level of sound control with the triple glazed windows means that I am no longer woken up in the mornings with the neighbour's lorry going past. Really glad I went for the triple glazing and timber frame as they provide a fantastic sound reduction
Looking forward to enjoying a long retirement in our new home.
