This Passivhaus education project will see the construction of a new primary school for City of Edinburgh Council. The new primary school will bring together the existing Fox Covert Primary and St Andrew’s Fox Covert RC Primary Schools within one building and will be constructed on same the site.

This new-build project is being designed to the rigorous Passivhaus standard and will apply the principles of the Net Zero Public Sector Building Standard.  

As the appointed Passivhaus Consultant, it is the responsibility of Carbon Futures to ensure the design and construction of the new building achieves the stringent Passivhaus Classic criteria. Through detailed PHPP modelling and engagement with the design, our specialist consultants will assess strategies and specifications, providing guidance on the various factors that will impact the Passivhaus targets, ensuring that the criteria is met when assessed in use.

During construction phase, our role will evolve into Quality Assurance with our team members visiting the site to review the construction works and detailing to ensure the design intent has been implemented accurately and in a robust manner. In the final stage of the project, we will then liaise with the Passivhaus Certifier, providing them with the necessary data to review and to certify the project.

To enable the new Fox Covert Primary School to meet its ambitious heat demand and energy targets, the primary school building has been designed with an enhanced thermal envelope. Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery system (MVHR) will be used throughout the building, ensuring that energy is re-used and that the building is well-ventilated to prevent overheating and the build-up of CO₂. Air source heat pumps and roof mounted PV arrays are also being installed as clean, zero direct emission energy sources.