From left: Richard Dove, managing director Dove Jeffery Homes, Roger Foulger, Broadland's portfolio holder for planning policy and conservation, and Mark Jones, managing director of the Wherry Housing Association.
New Norfolk homes are a sign of the times
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
7:56 AM
At first glance they look like any other small development of new homes taking shape in a quiet Norfolk village.
But 12 new houses being built at Rackheath, near Norwich represent a remarkable insight into homes of the future, incorporating the very latest technology and building design to make them so energy efficient that they will be carbon neutral over the course of a year.
That means zero emissions of harmful carbon dioxide stoking up global warming and for the families living there, vastly reduced household utility bills.
The affordable homes to rent are being built by Dove Jeffery Homes on behalf of the Wherry Housing Association on land at Green Lane West, Rackheath – now called Trinity Close - which was previously owned by Broadland District Council.
The contractors researched cutting edge technologies to meet the brief of making the properties among the greenest in Britain and achieve a zero carbon status that is many times more energy efficient than conventionally built houses.
Features include:
• Renewable electricity from solar panels in the roof that will generate 4000 to 5000 kilowatt hours of energy per year.
• Heat recovery and ventilation systems that capture warmth from air in rooms such as the kitchen or bathroom, filter it and use it to heat and ventilate other rooms in the house.
• “Grey water” systems to recycle bathwater for use in flushing toilets.
• Super insulation in walls, floors, roofs, windows and doors that are way above statutory levels.
•“Smart meters” to monitor energy performance over the next three years so that residents can keep a detailed check on the electricity they are using and from which appliance.
Funding for the project has come from the government, Wherry and Broadland council.
The scheme consists of two bungalows, four flats and six two, three and four bedroom houses. They are being offered at rents people can afford to tenants who are local to the Rackheath area, or those who can show a connection with the village, making sure the community remains vibrant and that people who grew up in the area can continue to live there.
People moving into the new homes will be given individual advice and assistance on how to use the technology and encouraged to lead a greener lifestyle by academics at the University of East Anglia’s Low Carbon Innovation Centre
They are organising a three year project which will involve data being fed back to them from the houses via broadband to see how power is being used. Equipment is so precise it can tell tenants exactly which appliances are using what amount of electricity.
The centre’s project officer for the development, Fergus Rolfe said: “We want tenants to get the very best from the innovations built in to Trinity Close, and that means making sure they understand how it all works and how they can do their bit.
“Sometimes the most energy efficient thing to do will not be what you would traditionally expect. For example the hot water system works more efficiently by being on constantly rather than by heating it for a few hours each day.
“And it’s better to use the washing machine during the day when the solar panels are producing electricity rather than overnight.”
Broadland portfolio holder for housing and environmental services, Cllr Jo Cottingham said the development was a forerunner to council plans for 200 more new homes in the village – the so-called Rackheath Exemplar Project - 40 per cent of which would be affordable, and again built to the highest environment standards.
She added: “Together with our retro-fit scheme to help existing homeowners in Rackheath make their properties more energy efficient through loans and grants for the work, these houses show our commitment to making the area one of the most eco-friendly in the country.
“We are committed to providing good housing that people can afford for everyone in Broadland and this paves the way for the wider eco-community project which is our long term ambition.”
Wherry managing director Mark Jones added: “These homes produce zero carbon emissions and are built to the sustainable homes code level 6, the highest rating new homes can achieve for sustainability.
“We are extremely proud to deliver such a high quality affordable housing development together with our partners, particularly one which will have such a positive effect on the environment. The homes also look great and residents will be saving money on their energy bills, which is crucial in times like these.”
Richard Dove, the managing director of Dove Jeffery Homes added: “It was a tough brief but we are confident these houses are built to the very highest environmental standards. Even the materials we have used are sustainably sourced.”
The homes are currently being offered to eligible people on Broadland’s housing register, with construction expected to be completed in late September.
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25 comments
look around you "ollie" and see the mess Norfolk is becoming.To say Norfolk is bottom of the housing development league is like saying "you are only a little bit pregnant". Why are there so many local pressure groups against all these housing developments?
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bookworm
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Ingo, Didn't you learn anything from reading the 'three little pigs ' story as a child ?
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nrg
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
@bookworm Your comment is so good it was worth repeating 10 times eh? (albeit in varying forms). No I don't sell solar panels, and I do read the "quality papers" (what do you define as quality by the way?) And as for overcrowding, Norfolk is in the bottom 10 areas in the UK by population density. You are perfectly entitled to be "fearful" of overpopulation and overcrowding, it's just that you're wrong about it.
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Ollie Westover
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
I hope Ollie got over himself before bookworm had a coronary.
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Valpy Word
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
I can build houses twice as warm without using bricks or mortar, houses that use filtered rainwater for washing and the washing machine, dry toilets with a reed bed filter system for all houses would make sewage charges a thing of the past. All houses would still have PV roofs and their water would be heated by the sun. Carbon neutrality of materials used in above buildings is sadly not required yet and the energy used in transport and manufacturing of these newfangled gadgets is not accounted for. Must try harder with less, is the message.
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ingo wagenknecht
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
@Ollie D minus to me for reading skills. Fair enough Still don't like cold fill washing machines though, or houses without cold larders and linen lines!
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Daisy Roots
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
I think there are 12 of these houses but if I am not mistaken the original plan was for 16. It would appear that we are paying a premium of 25% to provide these houses which are clearly to a much higher specification that most of us could aspire. So who will live in them? At reduced rent with lower energy bills and no council tax?
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Broadside
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Hello they are trying to sell us the eco-town again.
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John L Norton
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Well done bookworm, you've awakened yourself from sheepdom, many on here are still grappling with the truth. http:www.telegraph.co.uknewsuknewsimmigration7198329Labours-secret-plan-to-lure-migrants.html
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nrg
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
File under ******. The great green con swindle. Of course the Emperor's new clothes of MMGW never had no pants to hang out on the line
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nrg
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Daisyroots, can I come around and hang my smalls on the line...every little helps!!
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nrg
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
i am entitled to be fearful of overpopulation and overcrowding as it affects many aspects of peoples lives.that good enough for you ollie?
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Get over yourself Ollie.I am allowed to fear for the future of Norfolk through over development.Most people do not want all these new houses built.It is a fact this country is overpopulated so proof can be found anywhere online or in the press.i bet you manufacture solar panels---they don't work in the winter and look ugly and daft.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Get over yourself Ollie.I am allowed to fear for the future of Norfolk through over development.Most people do not want all these new houses built.It is a fact this country is overpopulated so proof can be found anywhere online or in the press.i bet you manufacture solar panels---they don't work in the winter and look ugly and daft.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
get over yourself ollie.bet u manufacture solar panels. i am allowed to be worried about the future of Norfolk.as for proof---dont you read the quality papers?it is fact I'm talking about not fiction.this country is overcrowded.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
get over yourself ollie.bet u manufacture solar panels. i am allowed to be worried about the future of Norfolk.as for proof---dont you read the quality papers?it is fact I'm talking about not fiction.this country is overcrowded.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
get over yourself ollie.bet u manufacture solar panels. i am allowed to be worried about the future of Norfolk.as for proof---dont you read the quality papers?it is fact I'm talking about not fiction.this country is overcrowded.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
get over yourself ollie.bet u manufacture solar panels. i am allowed to be worried about the future of Norfolk.as for proof---dont you read the quality papers?it is fact I'm talking about not fiction.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
get over yourself ollie.bet u manufacture solar panels. i am allowed to be worried about the future of Norfolk.as for proof---dont you read the quality papers?it is fact I'm talking about not fiction.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
get over yourself ollie.bet u manufacture solar panels. i am allowed to be worried about the future of Norfolk.as for proof---dont you read the quality papers?it is fact I'm talking about not fiction.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
get you ollie!!!Norfolk is overcrowded and becoming less green.get over yourself.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
@Daisy Roots: They have photovoltaic panels, sot solar thermal, so they produce electricity, not hot water. And outdoor (or suitable indoor) drying spaces are encouraged, are more or less standard practice on new houses. I suspect it wasn't mentioned as it's too mundane. I would bet my shirt that they have a drying line in the garden.
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Ollie Westover
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
@bookworm - these houses aren't about new boilers, they're about renewable technologies. Why would builders spend more (between 10 and 50% more by the way) if they were motivated by greed? and don't get started on immigration and social engineering, unless you are going to substantiate it somehow,
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Ollie Westover
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
stupid gimmick.i bought a new boiler which has not reduced my bills one jot. buildersaffordable homesgreen issues=motivated by greed and profit.backed by the Governments policies on immigration and social engineering.
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bookworm
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Lucky them if they managed to find a hot and cold water intake washing machine to make use of the hot water from their solar panels. The same sort of meddling that has done away with light bulbs we can actually see by, seems also to have restricted all but pricey washing machines to cold fill. In my opinion, more energy could be saved in new developments if it was compulsory for them all to have an outdoor drying space ( no tumble driers) an insulated ventilated larder for food ( less fridge space to cool) and thick curtains. I know one massive development of new flats where all the householders have to use tumble driers because there is no outdoor drying space at all.
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Daisy Roots
Tuesday, September 6, 2011