Open Homes April 2015 - Home no. 10 (Peveril Solar House)

The tenth home taking part in this year's spring time Open Homes event is on Peveril Drive in West Bridgford.

Peveril Solar House is a 2000's detached house. It is fairly standard in its original construction, but is far from ordinary in the renewable technologies employed. It is the UK's first entirely solar heated house, using a combination of power generation and underground thermal storage. 

Eco-features on display include:

• Ground source heat pump drawing energy from vertical borehole
• 6 sqm of innovative self-built sunboxes burying thermal energy 16 storeys underground
• PV panel array producing more electrical energy than the annual heating requirement
• Passive house style extension in SIPS panel construction
• New - innovative composting and vertical farming systems
• Solar dehydrator (will be on show before it gets moved to an organic farm)
• Electrical car charging point

The home owner has developed the sun boxes as a research, design and build project, and monitored their impact, and has lectured about it, home and abroad. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about what renewables can achieve.
Other features that may be of interest is the disability adaptation of the house - sliding doors, wheel chair accessible bathroom, disable designed kitchen, platform elevator. 

This home is open on Saturday 3rd May at 11am

To book your free place, click here.

(https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/twb-open-homes-2015-peveril-solar-house-tickets-16303006732)

Open Homes April 2015 - Home no. 3 (Greenstone)

Our third home on the list was probably the first zero carbon barn conversion in the UK.

The barn, built in 1860, was converted in 2008 and now generates more energy than it consumes.

As you might expect, this was achieved with a highly efficient building fabric and a range of renewable technologies which not only serve the home but also help to run the electric car.

Super Insulation (25w/m2)

Air tight (2.3m3/m2@50P)

Whole house ventilation with heat recovery

Triple glazed

Underfloor heating

Ground sourced heat pump with bore hole heat collection for space heating and hot water

Biomass pellet stove for backup/occasional room heating

Solar thermal

Solar PV roof and ground mounted

Solar battery storage

Optimersion (using surplus solar electricity to generate hot water)

High use of thermal mass to reduce heating required and control summer overheating

Rain water recycling

Electric car charging

Detailed energy monitoring

For anyone wanting highly technical information about various renewable technologies, home owner David Hill will be able to answer a wide range of questions.

Open on Saturday 25th April at 10am and Sunday 26th April at 2pm.

To book your free visit, click here.

(https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/twb-open-homes-2015-greenstone-tickets-16024926988 )

David is also MD of Carbon Legacy Ltd., a local company which installs renewable technologies, and also one of the sponsors of this event.

Open Homes in and around Nottingham, April 2015

Transition West Bridgford's springtime Open Homes event is taking place on the weekend of 25th and 26th April 2015.

We're expecting to have more homes to visit than any time before (eleven so far) so there will be plenty to choose from. Several have only just completed their refurbishments in the last 12 months, and some are still in progress.

All the details will be posted here in the next month. And if you'd like to receive an email when the opening times have been finalised, just email wbecohouses@gmail.com with OPEN HOMES WEEKEND in the header.

This is event is supported by funding from the Green Open Homes network with additional sponsorship from local companies Carbon Legacy Ltd, Westville Ltd and John A Stephens (the local builders merchants). Co-ordination of the event is by local consultancy EcoHouseNet.

If your company would like to sponsor community energy events like this one, please get in touch.

Organised by: and


With funding from:    

And additional sponsorship from....

 

Open Homes May 2014 - House number 1 of 7

Of the homes we're opening to the public in May 2014, this is the first to be featured here in the run up to the open days.

The Green Man House is a new build to almost Passive House standard, and it's near Market Bosworth! It may seem a little way outside Nottingham, but it's a great house so it would be a shame to miss it out.

Owner Peter said

"Of the number of approaches to building a ‘green house,’ we decided to emulate the Passivhaus standard. We decided on a timber frame construction built off site, with good insulation, air tightness, solar water heating, and a ventilation system with heat recovery. The house was orientated and designed to take advantage of the warmth of the sun within a fairly tight site.

The house has performed well since it was completed five years ago, although it just failed the Passivhaus air tightness standard. A log burning stove is used on colder winter evenings to bring temperatures up to a comfortable level and to boost the hot water supply."

If you would like to visit this house, click here to book your place. Numbers are limited so that you get the best from the visit, with a chance to put your questions to the home owner.

It's windy out there!

A piece of news that I heard via the AECB (Sustainable Builders Association) and CAT (Centre for Alternative Technology):

In the early hours of this morning (22nd November 2012), electricity production from wind power actually exceeded electricity from gas! Between 3:30am and 5:30am, UK wind turbines produced around 4.2GW whereas gas power stations contributed a bit less than 4GW.

By the way - if you are thinking of checking your draught-proofing around the house, then a windy day is a great time to do it. Hold your hand near to doors frames, window frames, skirting boards, chimneys and so on to work out where cold air is leaking in and warm air is leaking out.

If you have any specific questions about draught-proofing, just email wbecohouses.co.uk and the answer might get posted on this blog.

Homes Behaving Badly workshops

These free workshops (one devoted to cavity wall houses, two to solid wall houses and one to rooms in the roof) are a fantastic chance to get some really good information about all the ways you could improve comfort or reduce the energy bills in your home. (see full details in recent posts)

The workshops will be based around 8 examples of typical house types in West Bridgford, each example having undergone improvements small or large. Some of the home owners will be there to talk and answer questions about their energy saving experiences.

If you live in a house of solid (not cavity) wall construction and are not sure which solid wall workshop is for you - the first covers free and lower cost options and the second covers higher cost options and whole house retrofit. Why not come to both?

The Homes Behaving Badly workshops will be held at Edwalton Primary School, Wellin Lane, Edwalton, Nottingham NG12 4AS.
Click on the link for a map and details of the no 6 bus stops near Edwalton Primary School.

Although you can turn up on the day, it would really help us to anticipate numbers if you book your place by contacting Sarah on 07772 330779 or by email: sarah.goodman.ehg@gmail.com

3 March 9.30-12.30 - Cavity wall workshop
3 March 1.30-4.30pm - Solid wall workshop (lower cost options)
10 March 9.30-12.30 - Solid wall workshop (higher cost options)
10 March 1.30-4.30pm - Rooms in the roof - improving attics and loft conversions new and old

Exhibition of local low energy homes

As part of the Eco Houses under Construction series, we have organised a FREE Exhibition on Saturday 21st January 2012 (10am-1pm) at St Paul's Church Hall on Boundary Road in West Bridgford. To see to poster, click here.

The exhibition will showcase all the houses that have already featured in the Eco Houses under Construction series, with a few additional examples as well. From a solid wall home insulated with minimal disruption to the occupants, to full scale ultra low energy refurbishments and new builds, this is a sneak preview of the homes of the future.

It is a great chance to see the displays and talk to the home owners, architects and those who provided the products and services to create these low energy homes. And it is a one-off opportunity to compare the different projects while they are all represented under one roof.

• If your New Year's resolutions include cutting your energy bills, come and have a chat with Rushcliffe Borough Council's Energy Officer. She will be offering independent advice about improvements that should save you money in the short to medium term. And we'll have the latest news on the Green Deal - a scheme designed to help people finance energy efficiency savings with no up front cost.

• If you live in a solid wall house and find it increasingly expensive to heat, come and talk to the home-owners who have already improved their homes, and the experts who helped them.

• If installing renewable energy generation technologies might be for you, independent renewables expert, Tim Saunders from the Energy Saving Trust will be able to answer your questions.

• If you have ambitious plans to live in an ultra low energy or zero carbon home, or to be completely self-sufficient by producing all your own energy, this exhibition is a must-see.

We hope to make the event enjoyable as well as informative, so Taste Cafe will be there selling their delicious cakes and light lunchtime snacks.

The Eco Houses Under Construction project is funded by Climate East Midlands, East Midlands Improvement and Efficiency Partnership and Communities and Local Government with a Growing Climate Friendly Communities grant. It is overseen by the charity Groundwork East Midlands. 

Eco Houses Under Construction - Event 5

The 5th event in the series will take place on Saturday 12th November, 2-5pm.

This is a rare opportunity to visit the UK's first Zero Carbon Barn Conversion, just down the road in East Leake. The developer (and owner) of this home is David Hill, who previously developed the UK's first Code 6 new build Zero Carbon homes in Upton, Northampton. He is now director of Carbon Legacy Ltd.

Although not still "under construction", this house has the advantage of 3 years' energy data post completion, showing that the approach taken has worked.

(For anyone who attended the series of Eco House Seminars which we ran this time last year, you may remember that David presented a talk on low energy refurbishment, and also contributed to the seminar on renewable energy for homes.)

For more information or to book your place on this free event, email Tina on info@wbecohouses.co.uk

Here is David's summary of the house:


·         Super insulated 9” solid brick walls
·         Factory made Insulated roof panels (SIPS)
·         Super insulated floor slab with wet under floor heating (ground and first floor)
·         Extensive use of thermal mass in floors, internal walls and ceiling
·         Whole house ventilation with heat recovery 90% efficiency
·         Triple glazed timber windows with aluminium outer skin (Rationel)
·         Draft lobby with highly insulated doors (Rationel)
·         Air tight construction with measured value of 2.3m3/m2@50Pa pressure
·         Thermal store fed by oversized Solar Hot water panels and heat pump for space heating and domestic hot water

·         10kwp Solar PV system installed in December which should make us carbon neutral in energy use. Half of the system also feeds a new type of inverter (Nedap Powerrouter). This will do 5 important tasks: Send power to the house as it is required, when the house does not need the power divert it to a large battery store, in the evening when the house is calling for electricity turn the battery power into AC and send it to the house, during the day if the house does not need power and the batteries are fully charged then export power to the grid, should the Mains Grid supply fail then the unit will continue to feed converted power from the batteries into the house independently.

·         Ground sourced heat Pump (GSHP) providing space heating and some of the domestic hot water
·         Experimental Sunbox providing Earth charging energy from solar and ambient air to improve the efficiency of the GSHP
·         Rain water recycling from underground tank to provide water for toilet flushing and garden irrigation
·         Presence and daylight sensor light control in common areas of the house
·         100% low energy lighting and low energy appliances
·         Planning permission and foundation pad for a 10-15kw VAWT wind turbine for when I find one that works!
·         Reserve wood pellet 5kw stove in case of power failure

Interesting facts/results:

·         It works!
·         It has met its target energy consumption with 3 years’ worth of all power consumption (electricity) 10,500kwh/year
·         If we had the 10kw wind turbine (long story) or when we install the 10kw or bigger Solar PV installation then the house will generate as much or more power than it consumes.
·         It may also provide free electricity to charge 2 electric cars the first of which is due to arrive in 2012
·         The family loves it because it is comfortable and pleasant to live in all year round

AECB annual conference

The annual conference for the Sustainable Builders Association (AECB) took place on 16th and 17th September this year in Nottingham, and I went along to it for the first time. As a home-owner rather than a building professional, I thought I might be out of my depth, but I had a wonderful time and can highly recommend it!

A large part of this year's focus was on retrofit, but talks and workshops covered a wide range of topics, including:
- The launch of the AECB's "Less is More - Energy Security after Oil" discussion paper by David Olivier
- Renovating existing homes and creating new buildings to Passive House standard
- Embodied carbon and sustainability of buildings and materials

There was also a talk on "a community network promoting energy efficient buildings" - by me, about Transition West Bridgford's Eco House Group, the events organised over the last 18 months, and this blog!

If you are thinking about starting a major low-energy or sustainable refurbishment (or new build), it is worth joining the AECB as a supporter member (for about £40+), just for the useful documents that you can then download. But there is much more on the website - a forum, articles, courses, the chance to find out who's who and what some of the UK's leading sustainable builders and architects (etc.) are working on, and events for local groups.

http://www.aecb.net/

Houses to visit and useful info

As well as our next "Eco Houses Under Construction" event on Saturday 30th July (email info@wbecohouses.co.uk if you want to come along), here are some other projects that may be of interest...

Here is a little summary of some useful information and visits that have been sent to me by other members of the Eco House Group.

Jerome sent me this link - it is something that Nottingham Energy Partnership has developed to support domestic refurb:

http://www.superwarmzone.com/interactiveecohouse

Ian has sent a link about some other low carbon houses to visit. If you don't mind travelling a bit, then the BRE open days may be for you:

http://www.bre.co.uk/eventdetails.jsp?id=5158

To get a view of a high-tec future, look out for this development in the Derby area which is in the final stages of completion now. Once finished, the show home will be open to visitors:

http://www.zerocarbonhub.org/examplepdfs/Shine_ZC_Derby_2011414_12126875.pdf

Update on our local Eco School's bid for funding

Hi All

We have been invited to apply for the next round. With your support Edwalton Primary is in the top 100 groups out of 939 registered. At 46th we are in the top 5% for number of supporters, well done!

The next round requires a written application detailing why the school should be included in the last 10. The application will be assessed by River Cottage, Friends of the Earth and British Gas.

The final round is a 2nd vote, only open to British Gas Energyshare tariff customers. I will not recommend that anyone switches to the Energyshare tariff, just to vote for Edwalton! The tariff may, or may not be the cheapest or greenest availiable, that is up to you to decide. If you are however an Energyshare customer should we make it to that stage your vote would be welcome :-)

With rising energy costs, if you are looking to cut your energy bills, the Nottingham Energy Partnership (the environmental charity I work for in my day job) has a totally free and independent online tariff switch tool, to help you find the lowest rate. www.nottenergy.com.

for round 2, with the panel of judges interests in food, energy and sustainability in general, the longstanding ethos of sustainablility and environmental education under the headship of Brian Owens, and the commitment of the staff students and wider school community; I think Edwalton stands a great chance!

I will keep you informed as to how we are doing and thanks again for your support so far.

Jerome Baddley
Parent Governor

To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.energyshare.com/inmail/reply/60043

Community Climate Action Network - news

Marches Energy Agency (MEA) have two exciting pieces of news for anyone interested in local community renewable projects

1) Low Carbon Planning Events - NEW DATE ADDED IN NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

***NEW*** Friday 7th October – Bowbridge Primary School, Newark, Nottinghamshire. Flier attached.
Saturday 8th October – County Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire. Flier attached.
Friday 28th October, Corby, Northamptonshire
Saturday 29th October, The Queens Building, DeMontfort University, Leicester

Pre-booking essential, email kirsty.mitchell@cse.org.uk.

FREE to anyone living in the East Midlands

MEA is very excited to be working with the Centre for Sustainable Energy to run these free events. They will help community groups, individuals and councillors engage with local planning and low-carbon development – and help you understand how you can generate local, renewable energy. If you or your group is interested in community-owned renewables then this is the workshop for you!

It will feature the PlanLoCaL model, a large-scale model of a town demonstrating how renewable energy technologies work, and the PlanLoCaL films, which include case studies and information on how to set up community-owned renewable energy projects. There will be a local keynote speaker at each event to provide a local context.

Interactive, practical sessions will focus on how communities can get involved in local plan making, different kinds of renewable energy technologies, climate change adaptation, community engagement, and funding issues. All community groups represented will receive a comprehensive handout pack, including DVDs.

Email ccan@mea.org.uk for a flier or details.

Funded by Groundwork East Midlands.

Email kirsty.mitchell@cse.org.uk to book your free place.


2) Support Local Groups on Energy Share - JUST A FEW DAYS LEFT

Have you supported your local Energy Share project(s) yet?

Edwalton Primary School is the closest to us here in West Bridgford - and one of the team leading this project is Jerome, a member of the West Bridgford Eco House Group. Just go to http://www.energyshare.com/edwalton-primary-school and click on the red button to support this project.

Or are you near Beeston and would like to support their Energy Share bid? http://www.energyshare.com/greening-beeston/

Search by postcode for other local projects you might like to support - there are more than 100 in the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire area!