Assuming we get planning permission (all digits crossed please) then we will be straight in to defining the detail of the build and starting to work out costings.
A Passiv house is an expensive thing to build. We are hoping to use ICFs (more on this in a later post) which should keep costs down and give us an intrinsically air tight house required for Passiv house type design. To have any hope of reaching a Passiv house standard we will need triple glazing - which is NOT cheap.
However if it gives us the comfort that a Passiv house should provide then I am happy to pay that premium. In fact I am not thinking of it as an "expensive" type of build but just an upfront cost for a long term saving scheme (both in cost of living and in terms of the environment).
Hopefully when we have a better idea of the excavation and basic build costs we should then be able to work out what renewable technologies we can afford to add. We will also need to work out what, if any, additional heating we will need. Even if we can't afford to add in grey water systems it would be good to get the plumbing in for this now, rather than trying to retrofit this later.
We are prepared to compromise a little on the fitting out of the new house (you can add in fancy bathrooms and kitchens later), however we won't skimp on the basic build quality and the Passiv house principle.
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