Scotland’s first Passivhaus schools edge closer with Edinburgh funding agreement

Councillors in Edinburgh have approved funding proposals which will see the first Passivhaus schools in Scotland constructed in the capital.The City of Edinburgh Council’s finance and resources committee approved proposals to fund the rebuild of Currie High, Trinity Academy and Castlebrae High over the next five years.Plans to rebuild Wester Hailes Education Centre, Liberton and Balerno High will be brought forward later this year, subject to funding from the Scottish Government.A report submitted to the committee stated that for all projects, outwith the Castlebrae development, “there will be an overarching principle to reduce energy consumption through adoption of Passivhaus specifications and certification (or a similar standard) where possible”.Due to the stage of design already progressed for the replacement Castlebrae project, the report stated that delivery of a fully certified Passivhaus solution risked causing significant delay to completion and potentially require additional capital funding.Council officers said the technology could save the authority up to £435,000 a year on utility costs.Several Passivhaus schools have been built in England and the first commercial building to use the technology in Scotland was an Aberdeen nursery built in 2015.The plans have been welcomed by environmental campaigners.The Passivhaus Trust, which oversees the technology in the UK, also commended the council.