SHOWHOUSE
Our show house viewings and presentations are available every Wednesday at 3pm. No need to book.
Extra show house viewing and presentation:
Sat, May 25th 2024 at 12pm
#397 Nordica 125 with converted attic, raised roof and square dormer feature, 35° roof pitch in Co.Tipperary, construction in April 2024
#398 Nordica 115 with converted attic, raised roof and square dormer feature, 35° roof pitch in Co.Kilkenny, construction in April 2024
#396 Baltica 135, single storey, 35° roof pitch in Co.Clare, construction in March 2024
#394 Baltica 153, single storey and L-extension, 35° roof pitch in Co.Limerick, construction in February 2024
More previous houses built (click here for photo gallery)...
The house is our super-passive Hibernia 164 with converted attic. We like to think that this is the best house in the world, at least the best performing house in the world considering the mild climate it is built in.
This 6 bedroom house of 240m² (2600sq ft) floor-area is kept at 20°C all year around. We have no other means of heating than electricity, and this is why the electric meter readings are absolutely relevant. The only trick is to evaluate how large percentage of the electricity usage is used for domestic electricity, space heating and support to heat the domestic hot water. And of course, the heat-pump in the shed. Please study the analysis on the second tab where the weekly total usage is presented.
Since the autumn of 2009 we have replaced the three flatplate solar collectors with six vacuum-tube solar collectors and a large tank to store latent heat from summer to winter. This means that we are now Zero-energy – all heat comes from passive gains and the sun. The first winter, 2009-2010, we did not reach all the way, we had to use some electricity for space and water heating in January and a few weeks into February. You can see this on the down-loadable spreadsheet and compare the usage with previous years.
CLICK HERE to download the total energy usage (ESB meter readings)… Updated February 2014!
Total yearly running cost was only €929 for the whole year of 2013!
Look at the statistics yourself. The above spreadsheet discloses the ESB usage for our six bedroom passive house, along with internal and external temperatures and much more.
The total heating system consist of 3 electric floorheat cables of 270 Watts each. The total available heatload is 3 x 270 = 810 Watts to heat this 6 bedroom house. It is only the tiled areas in two bathrooms and the utility that are heated. The rest of the house has no heating arrangements installed.
ESB meter: The reading of the electric usage is done every morning for the last 4 years
Garage Heater: The air-air heatpump in the garage is used occasionally to keep the garage luke-warm, crisp and fresh. It does however affect the metering of the house.
Temperature recordings: Every morning the lowest temperatures for the last 24h are recorded. External temperature on the north side of the house and the temperature in the bedroom that is located on the north side are recorded.
The main living area, the bedrooms and the entire upstairs are not heated. They stay warm from passive heat and the heat migrating from the bathroom floors.
