Passive House Research & Development Centre  (CREST): How to meet net zero carbon with Passivhaus 

CREST – Centre for Renewable Energy & Sustainable Technologies is a project that we feel is worthy of presentation. The pavilion is one of the most sustainable buildings in the UK and Ireland meeting the Passive House standard, BREEAM Excellent and Net Carbon Zero.The ethos of the CREST centre is to create a sustainable technology research facility that can benefit others, by showcasing the technologies that are integrated with a very energy efficient building. The CREST pavilion building has the purpose of being a demonstration building for pioneering design principals and construction methods. It is an exemplar working model for other construction schemes.It was designed using all the principles of Passive House design and is the first educational building in Northern Ireland to have Passive House Certification.The building is also constructed using materials that meet the standards set out by BRE, CREST achieved the much sought after BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’. Distinguished by 3 key sustainable credentials:1. Passive House Certified for energy efficient fabric and ventilation system.2. BREEAM Excellent the BRE sustainable benchmark for UK commercial buildings.3. Zero Carbon i.e. the building can offset its total annual primary energy consumption, with renewable energy generation onsite. Whilst a combination of two of these sustainable criteria has been carried out in other parts of the UK, this is the first example of a combination of all three. The combination of these credentials, integrated with the appropriate renewable technology makes this project a shining example of sustainable development.Carbon neutrality is achieved by virtue of the low energy input and sustainable energy technologies installed in connection with the building. There is 49kW of solar photo-voltaic panels installed at the Pavilion. This is comprised of a 45kWp robotic solar tracker – the first of its type to be installed in Europe – and 4kWp of wall mounted panels. In addition to the project, PhD level research has been undertaken and as part of the research the building is being monitored for Indoor Air Quality, Temperature, energy consumption, energy generation and energy storage. We feel we can deliver a unique presentation at your conference from the perspective as the client, the end user, the researcher and the trainer.