Refurbish to a better performance, has to be the simplest method and probably less red tape.

As you say, the whole 'eco' thing is a nonsense when it comes to selling.

creamcheese,

you don't say how many people are living in your house. I would say it is pretty big and that a refurb to a high standard.

Jonti

Jonti - just 2 of us and dog !!... but the site lends itself to a large barn-style house.. better for resale too

Yr problem is v large external surface to useful floor area ratio, and within that high circulation space to useful room area ratio (unless you walk thro one room to another), and prob small rooms and awkward shapes too. That's my guess.

A newbuild could be optimally compact, loss-wise, and much more useful and spacious-feeling accomodation within considerably smaller floor area.

This could be an opportunity for a really solar/site-optimised newbuild, with none of the usual Planner problems. Which way is south, and how much low-horizon sky can be seen from any part of the site, where you might site it?

Presumably in a high-house-price area (?) so value/return on investment has a fighting chance of matching up acceptably. How long will you live there? If prepared to wait say 10yrs, take a view on whether eco-virtue may have acquired a value by then. If seeing it as somewhere to end your days, then value/return may not be so important as comfort, ease of use and low running costs.

Ideal. So rebuild along the N boundary, ground slopes to S. Wd that still give you views to E and W? see my early comments in http://www.greenbuildingforum.co.uk/forum114/comments.php?DiscussionID=11412&page=1#Item_20

Trouble is, the view we really don't want is south - bungalow now, but probably 2 storey "god-knows-what" in the future. I think if we rebuild, we need to keep the current orientation, but shorter and fatter footprint, giving some south facing openings.

Not looking to make any profit - just to be happy with the result and hopefully not LOSE 50K or so. Passive standard features might add 40-50k to the build... but of course if we stay 10-20 years then that would be worth it, eh?

As Stevez said, what we have here is an expensive building plot...

"Cheapest option would probably be to sell up and buy a plot to build on, but of course that may cause a large delay to your build."

it would yes, but we moved here a year ago intending to do "something" with it, as we like the location, plot and views....

whatever we do, it will be stress, hassle and money...deep joy !

Congratulations on your purchase and good luck with the decision making process!

There will be considerations like how the current house design/layout fits your needs and the health/comfort factor offered by a low energy home which will be difficult to place a value on, but the projected end value of your new build/renovation and payback period for any energy saving measures will be calculable to a certain extent.

From the dimensions you gave above, your current home must be in the region of 230sqm (including garage), so to replace this with a house of a similar size could well be in the region of £200k+ for a decent spec build. That's a lot of money to recoup through energy bills and not likely to be an amount anyone could expect to see back in their lifetime, let alone 7-15 years. I'm sure a well designed and built low energy home on the same plot would be worth more than the current house, but probably not £200k more so again the numbers may not be favourable.

Having said all that, to put money into a renovation will inevitably result in many compromises being made that mean you don't end up with the home of your dreams, not to mention that nagging feeling which may be felt every time you feel a draught or fill the oil tank... which may feel worse!

You could always build a smaller house and it sounds like your family could fit in less than 230sqm, keeping build costs down but the end result may be worth less than the current house simply due to size. An architectural practice here in Northern Ireland offers a 1530sqft, 4 bedroom home that attains 93/100 for its energy rating at a turnkey cost of just under £70k and the firm I used have four different designs from 870-1530sqft ranging from £47k-90k, so there may well be a way to get the best of both worlds if the design is simple.

Posted By: Chris P BaconCheapest option would probably be to sell up and buy a plot to build on, but of course that may cause a large delay to your build.

In assessing that you have to consider the cost of living somewhere in the mean time. With planning or other delays that can mount up. Somewhere habitable on or very close to the site is worth quite a bit psychologically and financially.

Is part of the reason that refurbishment/upgrading is considered similar on price to new build to do with the a different type of work planning.
Also might be a case of corner cutting. If treated as a a new build project it may not be so bad.

But not winter sun from south? Big trees on boundary and (one day) 2 storey house? You might consider blankish/massive to NE/NW, light and glassy to SW/SE. The latter are excellent for winter sun penetration deep into the house, if lucky enough to have low horizons - but also need something to prevent summer overheating.

Posted By: JontiAm I correct in presuming that the end result required is basically the thermal qualities of the building?

Yes - but with big emphasis on the conditions for subjective thermal comfort, as much as technical heat loss. If people feel comfortable they'll run the heating a bit cooler, won't open windows in winter, won't perceive 'draughts' (actually cold radiation) from windows ... etc. Air velocities, humidity too.

Posted By: Jontithe need for a backup heat source

This is goingto increase if anything, as lighting, electronics and soon cooking contribute less and less to the residual heat demand. As the 'supplementary' demand is going up, the economic case improves, for replacing it with serious solar space-heating. You can't get rid of all 'fuelled' heating simply by further improving insulation/airtightness (PH really is the ultimate optimum for that) - has to be by deliberate solar. In the old days that's all there was - we've just lost the knack since coal.

Posted By: creamcheesenot full sun from the south, as there are no windows on that side - it's about 2m from the adjacent bungalow to the south

Yes but what's the southern skyline height (and the view) as seen from the northern biundary, where i'd suggest putting a new house?

Posted By: creamcheeseplanners would want to see some overlapping with the current house

Whatttt? that is one of their rules of thumb? I'd hope a convincing architectural design/layout would overcome that arbitrary nonsense. It wd have the effect of plonking your newbuild right in the middle of the plot, so you'd have 2 smaller gardens rather than one spacious one.