Fraser Millar to Break Ground on Second Passive House Development in Northern Ireland

Carrigan noted that their research directed them to explore the Passive House, which he describes as being “a perfect fit”. The firm also felt that the certification process and the use of the Passive House Planning Package would help ensure that future owners were buying a quality home that performed as expected. “We wanted to create a system where a Passive House designer, certifier, and the Passive House Institute would all act as external third parties to determine the low energy credentials of our houses, as opposed to other low energy housing, where the developers will typically establish this. Additionally,” Carrigan continued, “Passive House offers such detailed data in the PHPP modelling that we can monitor the performance of our built houses to confirm that they are performing as designed. I’m very pleased to say that after two years of Lancaster Park data, the performance is proving to be very successful.”

With planning permission for 74 detached and semi-detached properties and eight different house types to choose from, 13 houses have initially been released with over a quarter either agreed or under offer. The first completions are expected by the end of 2024.

Carrigan notes that the Lancaster Park homes have achieved net zero carbon dioxide emissions per year. Additionally, the monthly data they have collected shows that the homes are performing better than expected. “So far, we have received excellent feedback from our homeowners in Lancaster Park and the data demonstrates that our passive homes are showing an energy performance slightly below the designed projections compared to other typical new homes that are performing, according to recent studies, at nearly double their design projections. This demonstrates that passive houses do what it says on the tin, which can result in considerably lower utility bills for the homeowner.”