Technical 2 - Thinking Buildings

Technical

What is a Mechanical Ventilation With Heat Recovery System (MVHR)?

Put simply, MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) provides fresh filtered air into a building whilst retaining most of the energy that has already been used in heating the air and building. This is different to most natural ventilation scenarios where stale hot air (from kitchens and bathrooms) is simply exhausted outside along with the…

Triple Glazed Windows: Are they the future?

In the ever-evolving world of architecture and sustainable living, the quest for energy efficiency has led to innovations in building materials, with windows becoming more important in the pursuit of greener, more sustainable homes. Walls, floors and roofs have come a long way, so for windows, the next step is triple glazing. The transition from…

Heat Pumps: Is This The Future of Home Heating in the UK?

As concerns about climate change intensify, heat pumps are much talked about in the media. The spotlight on sustainable low-carbon technologies grows brighter, and heat pumps emerge as potential green heating solutions. But, what exactly is a heat pump and how do they work? You may not know much about them and they tend to…

10 Things To Avoid When Building Your Dream Home

Building a house is a complex and costly endeavor, and mistakes can be both financially and emotionally taxing. It will likley be the most expensive undertaking of your life. Here are 10 common mistakes to avoid: 1. Poor PlanningInadequate planning can lead to design flaws, budget overruns, and delays. Thoroughly plan every aspect of your…

QM Audit Passed!

We are very pleased to announce that we have passed our annual QM audit this year and the practice remains fully QM 9001 and QM 14001 certified through our accreditor QMS Connect. ISO 9001 is a Quality Management System Standard that is recognised throughout the world. It’s a powerful business improvement tool, providing the framework…

The Use Of Zinc For Homes & Houses

At Thinking Buildings we often use zinc elements in our residential projects. It is a versatile material suitable for various architectural styles and design applications. It can be used in contemporary, traditional, and historical building projects, looking equally appropriate and attractive in various contexts. Zinc has a long history of use in construction. Zinc’s earliest…

The Top 10 Passivhaus Myths

In the UK we have become so used to living in high energy consuming, draughty or stuffy buildings that most people find it hard to imagine how they would feel living in a Passivhaus. Here are the 10 most common misconceptions: A Passivhaus doesn’t rely on the occupant to open the windows as the mechanical…

Why Use Building Information Modelling

What is Building Information Modelling (BIM) and why doesn’t everyone use it in building design? BIM is a development of CAD, being Computer Aided Design. This in turn replaced almost all hand-drawn architect’s drawings. Thinking Building have been using BIM for almost 10 years. BIM allows us to create accurate models of the buildings we…

summer overheating in buildings new UK building regulations passivhaus passive house

Part O: Overheating, What you need to consider

A new building regulations document, Part O, has been added to the England & Wales Building Regulations. This came into force 15th June 2023 and has been introduced to prevent new residential buildings overheating in the summer. Instinctively you may think this is due to climate change and temperatures rising but this isn’t the only…

Summer Overheating – Can this be avoided?

This is a key topic at the moment due to climate change and the potential increases in temperature in the future. Overheating is a common occurrence in most new and existing buildings and is highly dependent on the actions of the occupants i.e. to open windows or deploy shading methods. Passivhaus looks to minimise the risk…