Goldfinch Create and Play

Green Flare has designed and installed solar PV, battery storage and a heat pump on a
new two storey Passive House Certified creative art space and cafe called Goldfinch
Create and Play.

LOCATION

Bristol

HEAT PUMP

Stiebel Eltron

SOLAR PV

JA Solar

ANNUAL CO₂ SAVINGS

1.7 Tonnes

BATTERY STORAGE

Pylontech

SOLAR GENERATED (Aug23)

10,021 kWh

Overview

Green Flare was recommended for the project by Earthwise Construction, the main contractor. This project is the UK’s first Passivhaus café, located in Bristol. The Passive House Standard has a very strict airtightness requirement of 0.6 ACH@50Pa, and
Earthwise Construction was able to achieve 0.43 ACH@50Pa in their final test result. We installed solar PV, battery storage, and a heat pump to work seamlessly with the MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) system, which was also installed by Earthwise Construction.

Technology

Once we had reviewed the building plans in detail, we proposed and designed a bespoke system tailored to the specific needs of the property. We installed a Stiebel Eltron WPL-A 07 air source heat pump - a highly efficient and reliable unit well-suited for this two-storey modern building. This heat pump was selected not only for its ability to provide consistent and sustainable heating throughout the entire building, but also for its compatibility with the property's hot water demands.

We carefully integrated the heat pump with a hot water cylinder system, ensuring optimal thermal performance and efficient heat transfer. This setup was designed to work in close coordination with the Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) system, ensuring that both systems operate harmoniously for maximum energy efficiency. The 7.77kw flat roof solar PV system installed using ESDEC flat roof mounts with a Solis inverter is comprised of 21x JA Solar panels (370W). This system was installed in August 2023 and has generated a total of 10,021kWh and avoids 1.7 tonnes of CO₂ per year, over the systems lifetime this is the equivalent of 316 trees planted - a meaningful contribution to a sustainable future.

Challenges

The main challenges we were presented with were that it required careful planning and coordination from the outset. The building's location on a main high street introduced logistical constraints, particularly around the delivery of equipment and mechanical lifting to roof height. Due to limited space at ground level, the air source heat pump was installed on
the roof above the first-floor plant room.

To address potential sound transmission issues, we installed anti-vibration mounts and selected a heat pump model with a low sound power output of just 48dB(A) - a key consideration given the building’s shared walls with neighbouring businesses. The available space for the plant room was also restricted, requiring careful specification of compact yet high-performance equipment that could be installed within tight spatial constraints without compromising functionality or serviceability.

The system was designed to operate with minimal input from the client, while being fully integrated with the building’s ventilation system. Heating and cooling are distributed efficiently through ventilation valves rather than your traditional radiators to give it a sleeker feel.

“From the outset, the ambition was for the new Goldfinch Create and Play building to be certified to Passivhaus standards - an objective that set a high bar in terms of building performance and sustainability. This required not only a highly efficient building fabric, but also early and careful integration of renewable technologies.”

“Earthwise Construction, the main contractor, recommended Green Flare for the project. Building on the initial brief developed by sustainability consultants Ecospheric, Green Flare proposed the most suitable and highest quality systems for the building. The specification of the heat pumps and hot water system needed to be closely coordinated with the MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) system, which was installed by Earthwise Construction. They worked together seamlessly keeping us on programme. Green Flare also designed a neat, ballasted PV array, carefully optimised to maximise panel coverage using a combination of East/West and South-facing orientations.”

“Tom and Matt were a real pleasure to work with, as were their on-site installers. Green Flare bring valuable technical expertise that has supported and enhanced my architectural proposals, and they are always proactive in resolving any issues that arise. I’m now working with them on several other projects and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.”

- Mark Finney, Director of Seb + Fin Architects Ltd