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Appendix 1 | Passivhaus at Ballacain
Ballacain is a former Quarterland farmstead. Over hundreds of years the farm and associated buildings have changed and evolved. Fields surrounding the farm buildings have been sold to adjoining farms to provide for more efficient farming. Over more recent years the remnants of the farm out-buildings have been abandoned and poor quality extensions and renovations have taken place to the current farmhouse. The currently proposed version of Ballacain is for a comfortable family home built as a Passivhaus; the highest international standard of energy efficiency. The proposed building meets the owners' aspirations for a sustainable dwelling and responds to the current climate emergency.
Tynwald agreed on a Climate Change Mitigation Strategy in 2016, outlining steps towards the 2050 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by $80 \%$ compared to 1990 levels.
In May 2019, the Chief Minister announced a Climate Change Emergency and committed that the Government would bring forward a Climate Change Bill in current legislative year. He advised that the Climate Change Bill would commit the current government and future administrations to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in line with the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Quoting from the Chief Minister's speech, he said "The majority of recent increases in our carbon emissions comes from residential properties and we must identify ways to reduce this".
In September 2019, the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) provided an update on the public consultation on options for possible inclusion in a new climate change mitigation strategy for 2020-2030 and interim targets. The Department received 1,029 responses ( $96 \%$ from individuals). Among the responses quoted in the update, $93 \%$ supported new buildings being built to a "nearly zero emissions" standard.
The proposed re-imagining of Ballacain would significantly exceed the requirements of the forthcoming Building Regulations with regard to levels of insulation and energy use. The building will be low/ virtual zero energy and generate electricity from photovoltaic cells. There will be no fossil fuel boiler. Any additional energy demand will be provided by the electricity grid, but it is expected that virtually all energy required for the dwelling will be generated on site and use will be made of battery storage.
Passive house (German: Passivhaus) is a rigorous international standard for energy efficiency in a building which reduces the building's ecological footprint, and provides comfortable and affordable living accommodation. The standard offers robust, proven and cost effective methods to help achieve carbon reduction targets for the built environment.
The standard results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. In essence thermal comfort is achieved to a maximum extent through passive measures (insulation, heat recovery, passive use of solar energy and internal heat sources).
Passive House buildings allow for heating related energy savings of up to $90 \%$ compared with typical building stock and over $75 \%$ compared with average new builds. They use extremely little primary energy, leaving sufficient energy resources for all future generations without causing any environmental damage. The additional energy required for their construction (embodied energy) is insignificant compared with the energy they save later on.
Passivhaus standards can be met with any type of building method but there are key factors such as building orientation and south facing windows which make use of solar gain and which are fundamental to achieving the standard.
Whilst the proposed building contains elements of construction that differ from current building norms, these elements are a development of existing building techniques and skills. The construction of a Passivhaus does not need particularly specialised skills or materials. It is the intention of the owners that building materials and elements will be sourced on the Isle of Man wherever this is possible and local builders and contractors will be used in construction.
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