Refurbishment of House, Bampton, Devon, England.
Low energy, sustainable conversion of house.

Private existing 2 storey house gutted & converted on ground floor to entrance hall/day space, 2 bedroom one with ensuite, shower room, utility space, study. First floor combined living dining kitchen with larder, master bedroom & shower room.
External 2 storey studio, & external log store.

The original house was converted in 1950's from a stable building and was in need of total refurbishment. The client agreed that it provided a good opportunity to undertake a considered and complete upgrade to low energy and sustainable dwelling.

Previously the day spaces were on the ground floor with the consequence that as the house, set into the hill side, had only bedrooms level with the garden at the rear. Only as small door at the head of the original stairs connected to the garden. The main day space is now at 1st floor level with large glazed opening onto to the garden at the rear.

The technologies that are now common in low energy houses are represented in this house:-

• 6.75sq m flat plate solar thermal panels with twin coil 450ltr. heat store/hot water storage cylinder
• 3.9kWp solar photovoltaic panels
• heat recovery ventilation installation detecting & controlling levels of CO2 & moisture, in addition to recovering up to 95% of the energy from exhausted air
• low E argon filled triple glazing in new windows constructed with Accoya preserved & stabilised softwood
• a high efficiency wood burning stove with back boiler also connects to the 3 coil heat store, (heated by solar panels), which has the option of using electric immersion heating (there is no gas supply in town)
• complete upgrade of the thermal performance of the building fabric, with new insulation of floor, walls and roof.

The external fabric is now highly insulated. The external walls are overclad with 80mm thickness of phonic insulation with a cementitious polymer-modified render finish. The worst case U values are for the roof 0.10W/m2K, walls 0.20W/m2K, floor 0.15W/m2K, triple glazing 0.80W/m2K. The roof store is fully insulated and also separated from the house by an insulated floor.

Useful thermal mass is provided by the inclusion of thick external stone within the insulation layer. These external walls, internal stone and blockwork walls, and a porcelain tiled screed, all contribute to thermal mass which helps even out temperature variations and reduces energy consumption.

In consideration of the high levels of thermal insulation, only the ground floor is provided with under floor heating. At 1st floor level a wood burner back boiler has been included for heating and provision of hot water to supplement the solar thermal panels or replace electric immersion heating.

Many of the features outlined in the 'Code for Sustainable Homes' and 'Lifetime Homes Standards' are included:- bike store, composting of waste, home working, drying space, energy display devices, renewal technologies (LED's), rain water storage, disabled access & use, adaptability& car parking access

Random stone finish prior to over cladding with
insulation
The Old Granary to the right behind studio roof is not
part of the site

A new oak roof truss to match existing was made to
support the highly insulated roof over the new 1st
floor day space.

Verge & eaves raised to
allow recessing of photo voltaic panels

The corrugated iron sheets have been replaced by
new slates, 3 solar thermal panels & roof light