Proposed requirements for energy-efficient homes in Scotland could provide a sharp learning curve for contractors, their supply chain and end users. By Tiya Thomas-Alexander
Yesst before Christmas, the Scottish Government made a significant announcement. Following a public consultation, it threw its weight behind a member’s bill proposing that all new homes should meet a new Scottish equivalent of the Passivhaus standard. The move, which has been promised within two years, is aimed at improving energy efficiency and thermal performance.
“There’s a very cast-iron pipeline of Passivhaus projects. So suppliers know that if they go through an upskilling process, they’re going to get a good bite at it”
Allan Smith, Morrison Construct
Welcoming the change, the MSP behind the proposal, Alex Rowley, said: “We have the knowledge and technology to build houses fit for the future with occupant comfortability as a priority at a fraction of the heating costs of a standard-build house now – it simply seems obvious to me that we should be doing this.”
North of the border, the public sector has already been building know-how in using Passivhaus technology for new non-domestic buildings. But the experience of one construction firm shows that, while ultimately worthwhile, rolling out the technology in more types of new build will provide a range of challenges for main contractors, the supply chain and end users.
In Scotland, Galliford Try operates as Morrison Construction. The firm has been working on a number of Passivhaus schemes thanks to funding from the Scottish Futures Trust, a body set up to invest in public infrastructure. The firm’s low carbon manager Allan Smith says the programme has helped usher in a “first generation” supply chain which has rapidly learned about the technology from a standing start.
The first of these Passivhaus schemes was the Blackridge Early Years Centre (pictured), built as part of a pilot scheme with West Lothian Council and community infrastructure body Hub South East Scotland. Recalling the project, Smith says: “All the subcontractors that we used on that had never worked on a Passivhaus project before. So there was probably that perception of, ‘Weʼve never done this before. Youʼre asking us to do something that is potentially higher quality or higher quality of delivery.’”
As a result, Smith says, subcontractors built a little bit of risk into their pricing. “Weʼve heard from data in England that some of the councils adopted Passivhaus a good number of years ago, so their supply chain is on their fifth, sixth, seventh iteration of Passivhaus projects. So that risk element is diminished because they know what they’re doing.”
Morrison Construction has been investing in its supply chain companies by encouraging them to get up to speed with these projects. Smith says the firm has “a very settled supply chain of contractors” so it has been able to tell them it has a number of low-carbon or net-zero projects in the pipeline. Smith says that the supply chain has been “really responding to it”.
“There’s a very cast-iron pipeline of Passivhaus projects,” he adds. “So they know that if they go through that upskilling process, theyʼre going to get a good bite at it.”
A formalised platform has also grown out of this effort, with the tier-one business setting up Net Zero Partners as a knowledge-sharing forum for its supply chain. It is split into three categories: carbon literacy, embodied carbon and operational carbon, and upskilling. Training programmes are run towards this, alongside partnerships with other local construction training organisations.
The learning works both up and down the supply chain. For example, Smith says that a steel subcontractor alerted the firm to a supplier who was offering “green steel”. The suppliers were then brought in to make a presentation.
Educating clients
It isn’t just the supply chain that is new to the world of low-carbon heating and cooling. In early 2021, Smith recalls handing over a finished Passivhaus school to the client. It was during the pandemic and it was still a few months until staff and the pupils could move in. So the contractor essentially handed the project over to the school caretaker. When the contractor went in to do a review with the client a few months later, they noticed staff were a “little bit on edge about it”.
Passivhaus buildings use mechanical ventilation systems. It was summer and the staff said they were hot but were also worried about the recirculating air. Smith says: “We had all these signs up on the wall saying, if it’s too hot, press this button. And if it’s too cool, do this. But someone, in their wisdom, had taken all these down.
“We explained to them how the mechanical ventilation system was bringing in fresh air. We talked them through the CO2 monitors so they could see how good the air quality was.”
Since then, Smith says, the client has learned the controls and can adapt the space to their needs.
“But it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for us that the buildings that we’re handing over now are very different to the ones we handed over a few years ago,” adds Smith. “And if you talk about the first generational supply chain, it’s actually first-generational for the people using them as well.”
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