Passivhaus Meets Intelligent Control: AVINU Delivers Benchmark EnerPHit Retrofit in Oxfordshire

COOKHAM DEAN, UK – AVINU, the award-winning specialist consultancy for intelligent building systems and KNX integration, today announces the completion of a landmark smart home project at Old Orchard, a high-performance Passivhaus residential retrofit in an Oxfordshire village on the edge of the Cotswolds.

Designed for and in collaboration with architect homeowners Tom and Phoebe Gresford of Gresford Architects, themselves leading UK specialists in low-energy and Passivhaus design, the transformation turns a modest mid-century bungalow into an exemplar of sustainable living delivered in line with rigorous EnerPHit retrofit standards.

AVINU was appointed from project inception to design, engineer, and commission the complete intelligent control infrastructure. By deploying an open-protocol KNX automation platform, AVINU ensured that complex environmental control, including dynamic shading, micro-climate regulation, and precision ventilation, works in harmony with the building’s ultra-low energy envelope while enhancing everyday family life. The complete architectural and technical story can be explored in full in the Old Orchard Smart Home Case Study.

Architecture and Technology in Environmental Equilibrium

Retaining and extending the original structure with a lightweight timber-framed first floor, Old Orchard incorporates triple-glazed openings, continuous super-insulation, airtight detailing, and Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR). While high-performance building envelopes dramatically reduce heating demand, maintaining internal thermal stability requires active environmental management. Without intelligent intervention, unmanaged solar gain through expansive glazing can destabilise internal temperatures.

To safeguard this delicate thermal balance, AVINU integrated automated blinds and Velux roof windows directly into a Gira-powered KNX backbone. Shading automatically adjusts in response to real-time light levels and seasonal solar angles, capturing free passive solar heat during winter months while preventing overheating in summer.

Invisible Technology, Intuitive Living

Beyond passive performance, the interior user experience remains deliberately calm and unobtrusive. Wall-mounted Gira Pushbutton Sensor 3 keypads and an intuitive Gira X1 app interface consolidate lighting, shading, multi-room audio, and HVAC control into tailored lifestyle scenes.

Custom-programmed scenes engineered by AVINU ensure the home’s sophisticated automation remains effortless to use. A dedicated “Breakfast” scene, for example, sets kitchen and dining illumination to preferred morning levels while automatically starting a chosen radio station, all activated via a single keypad press or through the mobile interface. The result is technology that seamlessly recedes into the background: robust, multi-discipline integration behind the walls delivering intuitive, frictionless living for the family.

“In a Passivhaus environment, performance stability is everything,” says Darryl Roberts, Managing Director of AVINU. “Our role was to ensure the technology reinforced that stability rather than compromising it. KNX allows us to coordinate lighting, shading, and environmental control as one intelligent system, designed entirely around how the family actually lives.”

Tom Gresford, Director of Gresford Architects and the homeowner, adds:
“We have been working with Darryl and Mike at AVINU on a number of projects over the past couple of years, including my own home. Their expertise is exceptional, and their solutions are sustainable and user-friendly, whilst the implementation is well considered and their site teams are knowledgeable and professional. I have no hesitation in recommending AVINU for any Building Management, lighting control, or Audio Visual installation.”

Collaboration Across the KNX Ecosystem

The project also highlights the collaborative strength and technical discipline of the wider KNX community. AVINU worked closely with specialist distributor MyKNX and manufacturer Gira UK throughout specification and commissioning, ensuring hardware selection, device interoperability, and technical support aligned precisely with the home’s architectural aesthetic and low-energy performance targets.

As an open protocol certified under international and European standards (ISO/IEC 14543-3 and EN 50090), KNX gives architects, M&E consultants, and main contractors a vendor-independent foundation for modern building services. This standardised framework ensures total interoperability across hundreds of manufacturers, elevating professional standards across the construction trade while safeguarding the home with long-term reliability, maintainability, and future-proof expandability.

Notes to Editors

About AVINU Smart Homes

Established in 2009, AVINU is a specialist consultancy of accredited engineers and KNX specialists with over 16 years of industry experience. Based in Berkshire and operating mainly across London, Oxford, and the Home Counties, the company is founded and directed by Darryl Roberts and Mike Farquhar. AVINU is recognised for its “jargon-free” approach and its role as a critical partner to architects and M&E (Mechanical and Electrical) contractors, delivering intelligent homes that emphasise energy efficiency and intuitive ease of use. The company is a multiple award winner, including “Best Whole Home Integration Project” (Smart Building Awards 2025) and “Best Residential Project” (KNX UK Awards 2026).

About Passivhaus & EnerPHit Standards

Passivhaus is the world’s leading performance-based energy standard in building design, reducing heating and cooling energy consumption by up to 90% compared to typical building stock. EnerPHit is the established Passivhaus standard specifically created for complex residential retrofits and refurbishments.

About Gira & KNX Technology

KNX is the global open standard for commercial and residential building control (EN 50090 / ISO/IEC 14543-3). Gira is a premier German manufacturer of design-led KNX building control systems, switches, and intelligent control modules including the Gira X1, S1 remote access modules, and DALI actuators.

Media Contacts

Interior of Old Orchard PassivHaus with integrated intelligent home automation by AVINU.

One of the Gira Pushbutton keypads at Old Orchard controlling the home automation integrated by AVINU.