Swapping their drafty Victorian tenement for an energy efficient home turned out the best move ever for Joana Lindbom-Gomes and her husband Fredrik.
Struggling with soaring heating costs on their poorly insulated flat, the couple who both work at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, started looking for an energy efficient home.
They eventually spotted a home that ticked all the right boxes at Hazelwood, Dandara’s new development on the western edge of Aberdeen.
Described as a ‘Passivhaus‘, Joana says their new home has saved them hundreds of pounds as it boasts an even temperature throughout the year thanks to carefully planned insulation, ventilation and light.
‘The house had the asking price lowered because they couldn’t sell it – people didn’t understand what a Passivhaus was,” says Joana.
‘We now dry all our clothes inside whatever the weather.
“We have a clothes rack in our room and by the evening the washing is dry – wherever you put it.
“That’s a benefit that we no longer think about.
“I have never seen condensation on our windows.”
Low energy bills and no dampness
While their friends and colleagues faced worryingly high heating bills last winter, Joana and Fredrik have been paying barely anything to keep their home cosy.
“I wake up in the morning and I feel grateful,’ says Joana.
“It’s one less thing to worry about.”
With the energy crisis ongoing and gas and electricity prices rising by 10%, Joana hopes that more people can benefit from Passivhaus properties.
“If more people were able to live in houses like this, they would be happier, healthier, and better off,” says Joana.
‘Better insulated homes is the way forward’…
The Lindbon-Gomes’s home was built as a pilot by Dandara in 2021, with two of the homes on their Hazelwood development built to the higher insulation standards of a Passivhaus, one using Scottish materials and supplies.
The pilot was funded by Scotland’s innovation hub, BE-ST, based in Hamilton.
Caitriona Jordan, head of retrofit at BE-ST, said that the move to a higher standard of build, such as Passivhaus, would be a fantastic for Scotland.
“There is no shortage of ingenuity and capability in Scotland to be able to do this,” says Caitriona.
“It is possible to train the workforce in Passivhaus and meet the needs for implementation of the new building regulations at scale.”
Alford developer set to build super insulated homes
One local housing developer set to build Passivhaus properties is Coldwells Build in Alford.
‘We’ve put all our joiners and builders through Passivhaus training,” says Clare Booth from the construction company.
“They can really see the benefits – and they’re asking, ‘why wasn’t Scotland building like this 20 years ago?’’
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