Pennsylvania Heights has been carefully designed to balance the needs of the individual properties with the overall harmony of its location, creating attractive street scenes that provide both private space and communal, managed landscaped grounds.
The Isle of Portland is a site of ‘Special Scientific Interest’ and Pennsylvania Heights includes a dedicated nature reserve, which is a large area of natural open space that can be enjoyed by all.
Pennsylvania Heights is a pioneering energy efficient development that has been built to certified ‘Passivhaus’ standards, providing the most energy efficient homes available in the market today.
The benefits of ‘Passivhaus’ are considerable, and should not be underestimated. Unlike conventional new build properties, the homes at Pennsylvania Heights have been designed to considerably reduce energy consumption.
In most traditionally built properties heat is wasted through poor insulation and air loss, which means that heating systems and boilers have to work hard to maintain a comfortable temperature, resulting in increased everyday energy use and household bills. Passivhaus overcomes this with a simple but effective idea.
A Passivhaus is super insulated and can be likened to an air-tight envelope. This means that barely any heat escapes and barely any cold seeps in.
As a result a Passivhaus can largely be warmed not only by the sun (solar gain), but also by the heat generated by appliances, such as fridges and computers, hairdryers and even the occupants themselves – without the need for a conventional heating system. Any additional heating during the very cold weather can be provided to each individual home at Pennsylvania Heights via three strategically placed Biomass boilers.
To achieve the ‘Passivhaus’ standard each home will be built using triple glazing, excellent insulation and a mechanical heat-recovery ventilation system, which ensures warm air leaving the building transfers the majority of its heat to the fresh air coming in. This highly efficient and environmentally friendly design means the occupants enjoy comfortable temperatures and clean fresh air, all year round.
In addition to reducing heating bills there are also significant benefits for people with asthma, hay- fever and other allergies, as the incoming air from the ventilation system has many particles filtered out, providing superior air-quality inside the homes.