How to improve from A3 to A1

nvjcjc

We built a timber frame house last yr, with 250mm insulation in walls, 100mm kingspan in floor, 450mm in attic.
House is south facing, we have solar panels, hrv, sealed log burning stove, external walls have air tight membrane.
House is 3300sq ft, with large open plan kitchen dining, living room, approx 30ft x 30ft, we also have large sitting room approx 20ft x 15ft. Our hall has a void up to ceiling of upper floor.
We use a condenser oil boiler with wall mounted thermostats and radiators.

I'm just wondering is there anything we could do now to increase rating to A1 or is it more with design etc.

Thanks

d'Oracle

Its gonna be really hard to help you without actually having the BER info on the house.

A3 is a good house and its not a linear scale.
The higher up the scale, the more expensive and difficult it becomes to improve. It looks like you have all the gear.

A1 has been set at a very high level achieving it might be more expensive and wasteful that you are prepared to go for.

nvjcjc

Some of the BER info is: Slide 9 .O {color:black; font-size:149%;} a:link {color:blue !important;} a:active {color:#C0504D !important;} a:visited {color:purple !important;} The kWh/m2/yr was 70.01
Slide 9 .O {color:black; font-size:149%;} a:link {color:blue !important;} a:active {color:#C0504D !important;} a:visited {color:purple !important;} air changes 1.7 ac/h

We are just curious as to what else we would have needed to do to achieve A1.

I know if we had put in geothermal or wood chip burner that would probably have increased the rating.

sydthebeat

nvjcjc wrote: »

Some of the BER info is: Slide 9 .O {color:black; font-size:149%;} a:link {color:blue !important;} a:active {color:#C0504D !important;} a:visited {color:purple !important;} The kWh/m2/yr was 70.01
Slide 9 .O {color:black; font-size:149%;} a:link {color:blue !important;} a:active {color:#C0504D !important;} a:visited {color:purple !important;} air changes 1.7 ac/h

We are just curious as to what else we would have needed to do to achieve A1.

I know if we had put in geothermal or wood chip burner that would probably have increased the rating.

not necessarily at all. perhaps even the opposite....

Geothermal heat pumps, while highly efficient, suffer badly because they are electrically fuelled. This means the primary energy demand is multiplied by a factor of 2.7 as compared to 1.1 for oil gas etc

biomass (wood) based boilers are extremely good at reducing your co2 output, but not good at reducing your energy value as they generally have efficiencies in the region of 70-85% compared to condensing boilers of 95-97%

MicktheMan

nvjcjc wrote: »

House is 3300sq ft, with large open plan kitchen dining, living room, approx 30ft x 30ft,

This has a lot to do with it as deap treats this space differently to the rest of the house.

Also, thermal bridging detail will affect the rating.

Why aren't you asking your ber assessor these questions? Afterall he/she has access to your ber/deap file and is best placed to answer.

nvjcjc

Thanks

I guess i should ask the BER assessor, i was just thinking about it over the last few days and thought of here first. We didn't get an advisory report, i guess u just get those on existing builds.

sinnerboy

Firstly well done on a great rating .

To give an accurate answer would require a lot of data about your house
( I am not inviting this by the way ) .

What you could have done .....

Thermal bridging reduction ( thermal bridge free detailing ) and PH levels of air tightness would have driven your energy demand down further and helped your BER rating . The PHPP software used by an expert could have eliminated your boiler , rads , distribution pipework and associated valve stats and controls .

You could have heated the house by preheating your HRV supply air in winter - with a simple loop off your hot water cylinder and/or solar thermal panels

So what can you do now ....

Rough guidance only now and suggestions may not be ecominically beneficial ,is to remove yourself as much as possible from dependence on grid electricity . Grid use is heavily penalised in DEAP/BER

1. Install Solar PV panels
2. Install a wind turbine
3. Domestic scale CHP boilers are soon to launched on the market ( in simple terms boilers ( gas/oil ) which are also genetators . ( I do not know much about them )

sinnerboy

nvjcjc wrote: »

We didn't get an advisory report, i guess u just get those on existing builds.

You should by law have been issued this . Applies to new or existing structures . Insist on it now . It will include recommendation for improvement including a simple high/low/medium indication on payback periods .

caesarthechimp

Have you got boiler interlock?
Don't expect too much from the advisory report.