Eco Houses Under Construction - Event 5

On 12^th November, a dozen people gathered to find out more about barn conversion in East Leake that will soon become zero carbon. David Hill (now Managing Director of Carbon Legacy Ltd.) turned the old dairy into a comfortable, highly insulated space. If you think that going low carbon is for the “hair shirt brigade”, think again – this is definitely luxury low carbon living!

Good air quality is provided by the MVHR system (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery), which draws stale air out of kitchens, bathrooms and the utility room, and sends warmed fresh air into the main living spaces. (This makes the utility room a great place to dry clothes simply because of the air flow.) The system was extremely quiet (well, I didn’t even notice it), although it could be heard in the utility room where the MVHR box was located.

 The house design ensures thermal comfort thanks to insulation, controlled ventilation rather than cold draughts, and plenty of “thermal mass”. Thermal mass is present in the form of stone floors and stone or brick walls – these absorb heat to keep the house cool on a hot day, and release the heat as the air cools in the evening.

Energy is provided in a variety of ways:

The forthcoming addition of more PV panels to create a 10kwp system, will equal the entire annual energy consumption of the house (10,000-10,500kWh per year). Furthermore, the imminent installation of an inverter with intelligent control system and batteries (called Power Router from Nedap in Holland. www.powerrouter.com) means that this house will continue to have an electricity supply even if the rest of the area suffers a power cut!

Solar hot water panels supply hot water during the summer months, and a ground source heat pump provides heat to the under-floor heating system. Recently, a pellet burning stove in the main living area has been installed in case of power failure or temperatures below -10 degrees C or when the main heating system has not been switched on.

1890s Extensively renovated West Bridgford semi

This was the UK's first radical retrofit of a hard-to-treat home - an 1890s Victorian semi in West Bridgford. Nottingham Ecohome has been running 11 years. Owners Penney Poyzer and Gil Schalom are acknowledged as pioneers of domestic radical eco retrofit. Both Penney and Gill have presented lectures on eco-retrofit and had students writing dissertations on their story, and have occasional Open Days. See the Nottingham Ecohome Website for more info.

Heating and Power
Heat exchange, Solar Hot water, Energy smart meter
House central heating and hot water system runs on waste wood biomass boiler
Solar thermal is used for summer heating
Single room Heat recovery devices.

Insulation
There is external insulation to side and back of house. Internal insulation to the front.
The external and internal insulation overlap relative to each other, to reduce cold bridging.
Floors and attic conversion are highly insulated.

Other green features
Vegetable garden, Water Harvesting, Water saving devices, Lexin Panels
A sewage catchment and composting system was tried, but abandoned in 2006.

A fuller list of features is on the website of the house:
List of Features: http://www.msarch.co.uk/ecohome/feature.html
Details of the renovation: http://www.msarch.co.uk/ecohome/tour.html

Mini event on renewables

For anyone who missed the recent event on Renewables, or for anyone who has further questions, there will be a “mini event” at the Test Match Pub on Friday 3rd December at 7.30pm. All are welcome, feel free to bring friends along too.

If you can give me an idea of which renewable(s) interest you, it would be handy (info@wbecohouses.co.uk). There will be at least one installer present and he has expertise in all realistic options for houses.

1930’s Semi Detached

1939, 3 Bedroom Semi detached house. Solid Wall construction with cavity wall rear extension. Loft insulation and double glazing.

In just over 3 year we have fitted additional loft insulation, some small areas of floor insulation and draft excluded. The next stage would be to wrap the house in a combination of external solid wall insulation/internal wall insulation and to insulate under the floors.

Annual energy use
• Annual Electricity imported 2000kWh
• Annual Gas 16,000KWh

About us and why we did it
In addition to the environmental benefits. Having worked in the field of housing and energy for 10 years and been involved in projects where we had put renewable technologies in to peoples homes I thought it was time to have them myself.

Heating and Power
• Solar PV – Generating just over half of our annual electricity
• Solar Hot water – provides almost all hot water April to end of September.


• A Rated Gas Condensing Boiler. This is much smaller, quieter in use than the older boiler and we expect to see at least 20% saving on our annual gas bills. The quality of our hot water system is much improved.

Insulation
Additional loft insulation, some small areas of floor insulation and draft excluded. The next stage would be to wrap the house in a combination of external solid wall insulation/internal wall insulation and to insulate under the floors.

Other green features
Vegetable garden, Water saving devices

Advantages
Reduced Energy Bills.

Disadvantages
None really.

Who did you go to for advice and info?
Own knowledge and experience.

Who did each part of the work?

PV EvoEnergy
Solar Thermal Carbon Legacy
Boiler
Heat Exchange Fan